Clifford Lee gave Royal Rhyme a confident ride as he easily won the Chasemore Farm Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown.
Karl Burke's charge, which came through late to defeat Certain Lad by a length, validated his status as the 1-2 favourite.
The four-year-old, who has won five of his nine outings, is still 20-1 with Coral for the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot.
In the first 10 furlongs of this Group Three race, Frederick Larson pulled clear of Miss Cantik and must have been 10 lengths ahead going into the finish.
However, Certain Lad overtook the leader as he approached the furlong pole, and Royal Rhyme then timed his charge perfectly to cruise past and take top honours.
Lee said: “I always knew I was going to get there. I got the leader quite easily, it was more the second horse. My lad has only beaten five lengths in a Champion Stakes and can run like that in his first race of the season. Possibly (Royal Ascot), we’ll just see how he comes out of the race. I’m sure Karl and Sheikh Mohammed Obaid will have a plan. We’ve got plenty of good horses and with a horse like him, like I say he was only beaten five lengths in a Champion Stakes. He’s entitled to go for a good race, it just depends on where.”