The Villiers Stakes meeting has been switched to Randwick's all weather Kensington track with field sizes and distances to be reduced.

Chief steward Ray Murrihy, racecourse manager Lindsay Murphy and senior jockeys Hugh Bowman, Blake Shinn and Glyn Schofield walked the track on Saturday.

They all agreed the grass growth following a recent renovation was not satisfactory and unlikely to be so in seven days although Murrihy stressed there were no safety concerns.

"The grass is not at its optimum," Murrihy said.

"There are no safety concerns but it hasn't recovered as well as we would have hoped."

It means next Saturday's Group Two Villiers Stakes will be reduced from 1600 to 1550 metres with a field limit of 14.

The feature sprint, the Listed Razor Sharp will be over 1150 metres instead of 1200 while the Christmas Cup remains at 2400 metres.

The Kensington surface, which opened on the long weekend in October, has received high praise from stewards, trainers and jockeys who say there is no bias.

It replaced the old all-weather track which was widely criticised.

"The Kensington surface is fair on all horses," Murrihy said.