The Group One Spring Champion Stakes has been moved from the biggest race meeting of the Sydney spring carnival.
A race for three-year-olds, the Spring Champion Stakes has been put back a week and will be run as a stand-alone feature at Randwick on October 12.
The switch means it will clash with the Caulfield Guineas but the Australian Turf Club says it has been designed to allow three-year-olds to make a fortnightly progression from the Group One Golden Rose to the Spring Champion with a build-up race in between.
After the Golden Rose on September 14, three-year-olds can continue on a Spring Champion Stakes path via the Stan Fox Stakes (1500m) or the Gloaming Stakes (1800m) at Rosehill on September 28.
The move leaves the Epsom Handicap, the Metropolitan and the Flight Stakes as the Group One features at Randwick on Super Saturday on October 5, a meeting which has traditionally closed the main part of the Sydney spring carnival.
