Begg, son of Sydney's racing legend Neville Begg and in his own rights a brilliant trainer at Randwick for 25 years before making the move to Melbourne, said he opposed any change of date for the Cox Plate which would ultimately cause upheaval across the feature spring carnival.

RV is considering changing the Cox Plate from October 29 to November 25 and making other changes to feature races over the spring and autumn carnivals in Melbourne.

Begg said there's no need to change the date of the Cox Plate.

"I'll use that old well known saying - if it's not broke there's not need to fix it," Begg told ACM Racing. "I've been quite staggered that they are even considering moving the date of the Cox Plate.

"I think some people forget horses are not formula one cars. You just can't go out there and start them up when you want. It takes a lot to train a horse especially at the elite level and that's what we're talking about here - group one racing in Melbourne. Horses are finely tuned.

"I'll be honest I can't see any reason for the proposed changes. Moving the date of the Cox Plate from October 29 to November 25 will have a major flow on impact to other features over Melbourne's spring and autumn carnivals. Horses need breaks to freshen up. They need down time. I've spoken to a lot of trainers about the proposed changes and I haven't found many that are in favour of the proposals.

"I think RV administrators are too focused on what's happening with racing in Sydney. They should just stay focused on racing in Victoria."

Over recent weeks champion trainer Gai Waterhouse and Cox Plate winning trainer Tony McEvoy have echoed their displeasure to ACM Racing about the proposal to change the dates of the Cox Plate in the spring.

Begg, who has established himself as one of the most astute trainers in Melbourne since moving his training operation from Sydney seven years ago, saddles up five runners at Sandown's meeting on Saturday.

Written Bligh makes her racecourse debut in the $200,000 group three Chairman's Stakes for two-year-olds while Tolpuddle lines up in the $150,000 Robert Hunter Handicap.

Vespertine and Rose Quartz are in the $200,000 Geoffrey Bellmaine Stakes for mares and British Columbia runs in the Seccull Handicap.

"We've got a very good team of horses heading to Sandown on Saturday," Begg said.

"We've only got the 30 horses in work here at Cranbourne and five of them run at Sandown. I'm confident they should all run well. Written Bligh has her first start in the Chairman's Stakes. We scratched her from the races last week after she drew a wide barrier.

"She's ready to run after putting in some nice jump-outs. I've been very happy with her preparation leading into this race. She's a speedy type who should be competitive in a very even race."

Bet365 rate Written Bligh a $13 chance in the early betting markets to win her debut start.

Vespertine and Rose Quartz line up against each other in the Bellmaine Stakes and Begg said it's not an ideal situation but the race suits both mares.

"I don't like having two runners in the one race," he said. "The Bellmaine fits in with other races we've got planned for Vespertine and Rose Quartz during the autumn so we had no other option but to go down this path.

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"I was very happy with the first-up run of Vespertine in the Standish Handicap. The Standish was an on-speed race which never suited her style of racing but she still ran well. She's in very good order going into Saturday's race while Rose Quartz has been running in great heart.

"She's a consistent mare. Her good form has been franked by the promising Jigsaw. Rose Quartz has run well against Jigsaw in a couple of outings. It's hard to split both Vespertine and Rose Quartz. I'm expecting them to both run well but I've got a slight leaning to Vespertine to be my best chance in the race."

Vespertine represents good value as an $8 hope with Bet365 while Rose Quartz is rated a $4.70 chance.

Tolpuddle has made good headway from his two runs in this campaign, according to Begg.

"Tolpuddle is a progressive type of horse. He's drawn a nice barrier and should get a good cover in the run before finishing off late. I think he'll keep in improving and will be even better once he gets out to longer distance races."

Sydney racing heads to Randwick on Saturday with the $200,000 group three Eskimo Prince Stakes for three-year-olds as the feature on the 10-race program. Eight of the 10 runners are resuming from spells in the 1200 metre contest.

Hot favourite is the James Cummings trained Aft Cabin who is chasing his third victory. Champion jockey James McDonald has been booked for the ride on the exciting colt.