Crossword Genius

State left royal horse in India (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

waler

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'horse in india' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'state left royal' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'state' could be 'wale' (wale is a kind of state) and 'wale' is located in the answer.
'royal' could be 'r' (abbreviation) and 'r' is present in the answer.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for waler that I've seen is " horse from overseas".)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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