Rebel Dane is breathing a lot easier these days and so is his trainer.Gary Portelli credits a successful throat operation and a change in his training methods with getting the horse back to Group One winning form which he hopes he can transfer to the big stage in Hong Kong.Rebel Danes win in the Manikato Stakes earned him an invitation to the International Sprint at Sha Tin on December 11.The seven-year-old will tune up for the trip with a barrier trial at Rosehill on Tuesday which will be held on the course proper as a mark of respect for Australias lone representative at this years showcase meeting in Hong Kong.Rebel Dane took three years from his first Group One win in the Rupert Clarke Stakes to win his second with many near misses in between.He can breathe normally now and he turns up on race day, Portelli said.And Ive got no doubt the way we are training him has helped. He has gone over a few jumps and weve been taking him to the beach and the change of scenery has sharpened him up.At the moment he is the best Ive had him this deep into a preparation.Hes vibrant and happy and has four sound joints which is always a plus.Portelli has no concerns about how Rebel Dane will handle the trip to Hong Kong on December 4, a week before the big race.Hes done many trips to Melbourne and Brisbane on a float so I think a plane to Hong Kong will be much easier, he said.There are no traffic lights or turns. It will be a breeze.A seven-year-old, Rebel Dane has earned more than $2.4 million but attempts to find a suitable home at stud have so far come to nothing.And if a stud cant be found, Portelli is more than happy to keep him in his Warwick Farm stable.Hes part of the furniture and I hate to think about the day he retires, he said.Id be happy to keep training him for another year.A field of six will take part in Tuesdays 1000m barrier trial. 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MADRID -- Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane goes into the long international break with a lot of thinking to do.While the hiatus leaves fans having to mull over the teams struggles a little longer, Zidane will be able to use the extra time off to find ways to get his squad back on track after four straight draws.Its my responsibility to look for solutions because weve got to change things. We cant carry on like this, Zidane said. Im not happy, that much is clear.Madrid was held to a 1-1 draw by Eibar at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Sunday, leaving the field jeered by fans. The team had already failed to beat Las Palmas and Villarreal in the Spanish league, as well as Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League. Its last win was at Espanyol on Sept. 18.We need to look for ways to improve and well do that after the international break by working hard. I believe in the work and the quality of this team. I dont think attitude is the problem but something is wrong, Zidane said. Weve got 10 days without the players and when they come back well have to start working at 100 percent, not only physically but tactically as well. We need to work together.Zidane said its too early in the season to talk about a crisis, but admitted the team has to turn things around when it resumes playing in two weeks.After the start we had to the season, this is tough to take, he ssaid.ddddddddddddIm not going to lose my head but its tough. We need to work harder and show more intensity at the beginning of games like weve done very often, but were struggling to replicate that lately.Madrid lost the league lead to Atletico Madrid after Sundays draw. Atletico, which won 2-0 at Valencia, also has 15 points, but leads Madrid on goal difference. Sevilla is third with 14 points, one more than Barcelona, which lost at Celta Vigo 4-3.Zidane said he may have to bring more intensity to the training sessions to get his players playing hard from the start.Zidane has not been able to count on some players during the winless stretch, including left back Marcelo and defensive midfielder Casemiro, who are injured.To add to Zidanes problems, playmaker James Rodriguez sustained a muscle injury while warming up for Sundays game against Eibar, and midfielder Luka Modric will be out for a while after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.Madrids next chance to snap its winless streak is Oct. 15 at Real Betis, a team which has yet to lose at home. Madrid then hosts sixth-place Athletic Bilbao.---Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/tales-azzoni ' ' '