Star miler Solow overcame trouble in running to make a winning seasonal debut in the Prix Montjeu at Chantilly.
Freddy Head's brilliant grey, who is now unbeaten in his last 10 starts, used this one-mile heat on the Polytrack as a stepping stone towards the Dubai Turf at Meydan last year.
He is now set to follow a similar path after a victory that was not without a degree of incident.
Maxime Guyon and his partner were fleetingly trapped for room by Vadamos on the far rail, but Solow's class soon came to the fore and he ended up winning tidily.
Solow was one of the marquee horses last season and also a regular on British shores, winning the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot, the Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood and the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot.