A 27-reaction, 15-species mechanistic model of the oscillatory 1,4-cyclohexanedione (CHD)-bromate-acid system recently introduced by Szalai and Koros is analyzed. Both the important reactions and major interactions are identified using the principal component analysis. These considerations result in a 21-reaction, 14-species reduced mechanism that reproduces the behavior of the original model. This model is further simplified to a three-variable (HBrO2, Br-, and H(2)Q) Skeleton model that differs from the Oregonator model. For, it attributes an essential role to H(2)Q (1,4-dihydroxybenzene), a species continuously generated in the redox reaction of CHD and bromate. It is shown that the CHD-bromate reacting system is closely related dynamically to the "emptying/refilling'' CSTR oscillators.