The accumulation of Cdc6 promotes the initiation of DNA replication. In this issue of Cell, Mailand and Diffley (2005) show that phosphorylation of Cdc6 by cyclin-dependent kinases prevents its destruction by the anaphase promoting complex (APC). This simple mechanism explains how the APC simultaneously spares Cdc6 while targeting for destruction suppressors of DNA replication during the transition from quiescence to cell cycle reentry.