Norwegian Square de Luynes Could Target Royal Ascot

A trip to Royal Ascot next year could be on the cards for Scandinavian sensation Square de Luynes following an emphatic victory in the Stockholm Cup International (G3) Sept. 22, which sent his sky-high reputation soaring even higher.

Square de Luynes, who is trained in Norway by Niels Petersen, is considered one of the finest prospects to emerge from Scandinavia in years and he showed why at Bro Park as he bolted up by seven lengths under Robert Havlin, with British challengers Amazing Red (official rating of 101) and Crowned Eagle (106) seventh and eighth, respectively.

Petersen has high hopes for the 4-year-old, and said: "I believe he can mix it in group 1s in the future. We looked after him for a long time and always said he was something special. It was just about trying to get him there.

"He's a son of Manduro, a late type, and obviously there are great opportunities in Dubai, but I'm not sure that would be the right thing for him. To run him in Britain is tempting, at somewhere like Royal Ascot as he deserves to go out and try something, but we have to find the right race and the right place for him."

Explaining why he believes there is even more to come from Square de Luynes, Petersen added: "I had him as a 2-year-old and he had a problem or two so I've always been careful with him. He's still not 100% there yet, and I believe he has plenty of improvement to come.

"He's still a little bit unfurnished and although he looks magnificent when he gallops, when you're close up you can see he's still lacking a bit. He's lacking race experience, hasn't had to battle much and you don't know how far he can go."

Nick Smith, who is in charge of attracting overseas horses to the royal meeting each June in his role as director of racing and communications at Ascot, said: "We're always interested in horses who bring something new to Royal Ascot, and recent history with Nagano Gold's second in the Hardwicke (G2) shows that stories can come from everywhere."

Comparisons will be drawn to Petersen's former stable stalwart Bank of Burden, who scooped ten group races in a glittering career that saw him compete on the international stage, including 13 times at Meydan. 

However, Petersen is adamant his new star has more latent talent, and the tools to secure the trainer a first group 1 success. 

"With Bank of Burden the ability was fantastic, but Square de Luynes has a higher level to him," said Petersen. "When he's at his peak he has more capacity, although he has a long way to go to match Bank of Burden. He was outstanding year after year but Square de Luynes has a greater top level."  

Given his status as a stalwart at John Gosden's all-conquering yard, there is arguably no finer man than Havlin to judge a horse's talent. He believes Square de Luynes is a genuine group 2 horse at this stage, but said he remains open to plenty of improvement and could scale greater heights as he matures mentally.

Havlin said: "He beat that field decisively on ground that was probably quick enough for him. I think if he went anywhere in Europe at the moment he'd be a solid group 2 horse. He's definitely one who will improve because he's mentally still a bit of a baby and there's definitely more to come."

Speaking about how the association with Petersen and Square de Luynes developed, Havlin said: "I've ridden winners for Niels in Scandinavia over the years and he asked me to ride him when he ran in Oslo last time (and won by eight and three-quarter lengths), but I had commitments for John Gosden back home so put Pat Cosgrave forward for the ride."

"Even before Square de Luynes ran in Oslo I had a good chat with Niels about the horse and he was really keen on him," he added. "He told me, 'He could be one of the best to come out of Scandinavia in a long time', and he certainly wasn't wrong."