David Hayes will decide on Wednesday whether his newly acquired Changingoftheguard will challenge for the Melbourne Cup or opt for this week's Mackinnon Stakes.Changingoftheguard had his best workout since arriving in Australia early this month when jockey Glen Boss took the entire through an impressive 2000 metre solo gallop around Sandown on Monday morning.Although the horse was distracted late in the hitout, both trainer and rider were pleased with what they saw from the four-year-old over th

David Hayes will decide on Wednesday whether his newly acquired Changingoftheguard will challenge for the Melbourne Cup or opt for this week's Mackinnon Stakes.

Changingoftheguard had his best workout since arriving in Australia early this month when jockey Glen Boss took the entire through an impressive 2000 metre solo gallop around Sandown on Monday morning.

Although the horse was distracted late in the hitout, both trainer and rider were pleased with what they saw from the four-year-old over the Mackinnon distance, in his first serious run since an abscess on his near-hind foot burst on Saturday.

"That was his first decent blow since I've had him, he'll come on a lot for it," Hayes told reporters at Sandown.

"I haven't made up my mind yet ... he's in good order.

"It was nice work but it's always hard to judge work when you're working on your own."

Boss said the four-year-old would have run even better with a mate to keep him switched on.

"Overall, his work was very sound but I think at the 400 metre mark he felt like he was really going to surge and work really good with me but then he lost focus," Boss said.

"He worked OK up the straight but not as good as I would have expected.

"That's not an issue as far as how good he is, it's just about focusing."

Hayes said the foot abscess was not a factor as the horse missed little work and his priority was still the 3200m Cup.

"I'd prefer to run in the Cup ... I just want to see how he is after that hitout," he said.

Boss said Changingoftheguard pulled up well soon after the gallop.

"Within a couple of minutes he's breathing normal and he's back to normal and he seems very relaxed. That's a sign he's got very good fitness," Boss said.

Although Hayes bought the four-year-old from Irish stud Coolmore with an eye on the 2010 staying events, he won't be entered in next week's Cup just to make up the numbers.

"If we run him we would think he's got a really nice chance," he said.

If Hayes opts for the Cup, Changingoftheguard will work with Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov's Cup entrant Mourilyan at Sandown on Thursday, otherwise he'll have an easy workout on his own.

Kadyrov's other horse Bankable has a sore foot and is out of the Mackinnon, with trainer Herman Brown hoping he could be fit for the Emirates Stakes on Saturday week.

Damien Oliver took the Luca Cumani-trained Cima de Triomphe on a solid workout at Sandown on Monday and the British grey is now likely to start in the Mackinnon rather than the Cup.

With Boss suspended until Melbourne Cup eve for interference during his ride in the Cox Plate, Hayes has employed Dwayne Dunn for the job on Irish Lights in Saturday's Group One Coolmore Stud Stakes.