Robe Of Honour, noseband, just prevails from Nivvo, yellow cap© Photo Healy Racing
Robe of Honour pipped Nivvo by a nose in a thrilling finish to Dundalk's one mile maiden.
Michael Halford 's Robe Of Honour went off 7/4 favourite on the back of a debut runner-up performance on the polytrack that was laden with promise.
The Godolphin gelding held a good position under Conor Hoban as they left the stalls, After racing third, they soon settled in fourth.
Willie Byrne sent Elusive Approach on after two furlongs and the pair poached a healthy four-length lead with three furlongs to negotiate.
Byrne had a couple of peeks over his shoulder as the race hotted up in the final quarter of a mile. His mount boxed on but she was swallowed up by the closers in the final furlong.
Nivvo (9/1) and Robe Of Honour charged past and were locked together in the closing stages with Robe Of Honour just getting up. The Invisible Dog (11/4) was half a length behind the battle for first place.
Conor Hoban said: "I always thought I was holding him. He battled very well and ran the whole way to the line.
“He loves the surface and learned a lot from the first day. He had a lovely run here the last day when he finished second.
“He came forward from that and it was great to win with him. Hopefully he'll progress again.”
Additional reporting by Gary Carson
