Doswell Doing Well for Pegasus World Cup Turf
At 1h57, on January 29, 2022 • By GULFSTREAM
Joseph Allen’s Doswell first arrived at trainer Barclay Tagg’s barn with no wins and a ‘bad boy’ reputation. While the two subsequent years haven’t completely erased his idiosyncrasies, the 7-year-old gelding and contender in Saturday’s $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) presented by Baccarat has learned how to co-exist and be successful just being himself.
“He’s gotten better, but that’s because we understand each other,” Tagg’s longtime assistant trainer and exercise rider Robin Smullen said. “I’m really the only one that gets on him except for breeze time. We kind of have a mutual respect for each other, and that’s really what it’s all about.”
Tagg is effusive in his praise for job Smullen has done with Doswell, whose career full of stops and starts began with renowned trainer John Gosden in England in the summer 2017. By the time he raced again in January 2019, he was in South Florida with trainer Chad Brown.
“Robin’s a superior rider and we’ve had no problems with him since [some] gate stuff early on. Now everything’s been fine. He’s a lovely horse. He gets along with her well,” Tagg said. “He’s a big, strong horse. He needs a strong bit for day-to-day galloping and things like that, but Robin could take him out there and gallop him on a loose rein if she wanted to. It all works out pretty well.”
Doswell ran second in each of his first four career races, never beaten by more than three-quarters of a length. He broke his maiden in his sixth start and first race for Tagg in August 2020 off an 11-month layoff and has never finished worse than third in seven tries.
His most recent race was his best, going gate to wire to capture the 1 1/8-mile Fort Lauderdale (G2) Dec. 18 at the same course and distance by 1 ½ lengths over Atone, who also returns in the Pegasus Turf.
Junior Alvarado, aboard in the Fort Lauderdale, will ride back from Post No. 7 in a field of 12. Doswell is listed at 10-1 on the morning line.
