SEASONED traveller Mubtaahij (headline photo taken in Keeneland), twice placed in the Dubai World Cup, will leave the UAE for Hong Kong on Friday week with a view to running in the Gr1 Audemars Piguet QEII Cup over 2000m at Sha-Tin on Sunday, 30 April.

The Hong Kong showpiece is set to feature nine contenders from five international jurisdictions, with last year’s champion facing a clutch of rising stars.

Werther was an emphatic winner from top-class rivals in 2016 and will line up once again: this time the challengers will include one of Japan’s smartest talents, Neorealism, as well as the classic-placed Dicton from France, Mubtaahij, Australia’s The United States and one of Hong Kong’s new poster boys, Pakistan Star.

Mike de Kock flew into Dubai last weekend on his return from Australia and reported: “Mubtaahij put up a nice hard piece of work on Saturday. He is doing well. He will be accompanied to Hong Kong by Liquid Mercury, entered for a new 2400m race on the Sha-Tin calendar on the same day.”