California Chrome made an excellent start to 2016 with an authoritative comeback success in the San Pasqual Stakes at Santa Anita.
Winner of the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes in 2014 before being denied the Triple Crown when only fourth at Belmont Park, Art Sherman's five-year-old was making his first competitive appearance since filling the runner-up spot in last year's Dubai World Cup, having made the journey to England last summer before an eleventh hour setback ruled him out of Royal Ascot.
Victor Espinoza cut a confident figure in the saddle throughout, allowing California Chrome to track the pacesetting Alfa Bird before easing the odds-on favourite to the lead rounding the home turn.
Imperative came home well in the straight, but California Chrome was always doing enough to hold him at bay and a return to Meydan is now firmly on his agenda.
"I thought, when he went to the lead, he had a lot of horse," Sherman told www.bloodhorse.com.
"He just waved the stick at him and I knew he would respond. You have to go by him to beat him and I didn't see anybody.
"They were closing, but he had a little left in the tank."
Confirming the return to Dubai, the trainer said: "We've got to pack our bags. We'll be over there for almost three months."
"He'll be a different horse after this race and that's why I was a little nervous (today).
"After a nine-month layoff, his first race back, we didn't really crank the screws on him."