The revised programming of Sydney's summer middle-distance and staying races has posed a problem for John O'Shea, trainer of ATC Cup winner Malice.

The Listed 2000-metre race was his second win from his past two starts but where he goes next is a conundrum.

A rejigging of the program means there is a four-week break until the Summer Cup (2000m) and O'Shea said that might mean a spell for Malice.

"It's changed now. The Summer Cup's the right distance for him but it's four weeks away," O'Shea said.

"There's no continuity to it.

"We've got Terai for the Christmas Cup. She"s a genuine mile-and-a-halfer (2400m).

"But I'm probably not a fan for the restructuring. We sat down the other day as a team and tried to work it out but we couldn't."

If Malice has to rest on his laurels for the time being, O'Shea can be satisfied after he lived up to his $3.40 favouritism and dug deep to edge past Metaphorical ($4.20) by a nose.

The pair had the race to themselves with Midsummer Sun ($6) running another even race to finish third, 4-1/4 lengths away.

The win was the second on the day for the Godolphin team with the royal blue colours first across the line in the juvenile race with Sampeah.