(ANDREW BENSLEY is a leading commentator with Sky Racing.)

New South Wales trainer, Paul Messara, will be bound for Deauville in France next weekend for his impressive mare, Alverta, to chase that breakthrough international win. The reports on the condition of Alverta since her gutsy third in the July Cup at Newmarket have been very positive. Messara said the Deauville race is over a 1300-metre straight course which will suit Alverta.

Another of the Messara team, Beneteau, performed so well as a two-year-old but won't be seen until mid-September because he pulled a muscle while spelling. Messara said Beneteau's return will be delayed by two to three weeks, with the Melbourne spring on the agenda.

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TRAINER Mark Kavanagh returns from holiday next week and his No.1 jockey Michael Rodd can't wait as the stable plot a course for the Spring. Rodd returns to race riding on Sunday at Bendigo and admits there's a lot of hard work ahead after a month-long holiday. Next Friday with "Kav" back, Shocking and Shamoline Warrior will have important jump outs before resuming in mid to late August.

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WHILE looking ahead to the spring carnivals in Melbourne and Sydney, trainer Chris Waller hopes he has the team of horses that can surpass the achievements of this racing season. Waller said on Sky Sports Radio that Metal Bender will only require one trial next Tuesday before the Warwick Stakes because the horse retained a fair fitness level after a successful Brisbane campaign. Waller doesn't know whether Metal Bender will make it to the Cups in Melbourne or the Cox Plate but he's confident he's training a good horse.

Following a second trial this week, Danleigh is set to resume in the Group Three Missile Stakes next Saturday and will head towards the George Main Stakes. Waller also reported Pressday has returned to work and won't tackle the Golden Rose, where Crystal Lily is an $8 favourite in early TAB Fixed Odds betting.

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WE ARE expecting to see the first international arrivals for the Melbourne spring in late August, with Hong Kong trainer John Moore setting Able One for the Cox Plate. Moore is aiming to give Able One two runs into the Cox Plate with the Rupert Clarke Stakes and Toorak the likely plan at this stage.

This spring you won't be watching the international horses train at Sandown, with the new Werribee racecourse and quarantine facility in use for the first time. Racing Victoria is planning to gallop a few horses at Werribee next week before jump outs are run there a week or two before August 29. By all reports the Werribee track looks superb.

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FINALLY, Victoria Racing Club committeeman Peter Barnett can't believe his luck at the moment. With his owner's hat on, Peter has spent the last two months in Europe watching the outstanding Harbinger become the best horse in the world. Barnett met leading England syndicator Harry Herbert a few years ago and since then has been a part-owner of four or five horses but clearly Harbinger is everybody's dream.

Sir Michael Stoute, trainer of Harbinger, says he's a star who will be aimed towards the Arc de Triomphe following wins in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot (as pictured above, ridden by Ryan Moore) and the King George last weekend.