La Pulga hits new heights

La Pulga is currently in the form of his life and giving his owners regular action and great days out with some fine performances lately.

He has run six times so far this season, but his last three races came in the span of 19 days in July. The first of those was at Ascot, where he stepped back up in trip to 1m 6f for the first time since his cracking seasonal debut, and he stayed on well in the home straight to finish third to an easy, well-handicapped winner.

Two weeks later was when the fun really started, as he headed to Newcastle for a mile-and-a-half handicap - a course and distance he particularly enjoys - and he bolted up to win by six lengths! This came off a mark of 85 and, having won by that far, we knew the handicapper was likely to put him up to a career high mark.

The Johnston team wasted no time getting him back out to race under a penalty, before his new mark kicked in. Five days later, he lined up in the Racing League at Wolverhampton, the same race he came third in last year. Representing Team Scotland and back over the longer trip, he pulled clear of his rivals with his teammate and regular rival Charging Thunder. The pair were locked in battle all the way up the straight, with nothing else challenging. Both horses traded odds-on in-running, but it was Charging Thunder who got up in the shadow of the post to narrowly deny us back-to-back victories.

It was an agonising defeat, but showed what a gutsy horse La Pulga is. He thrives off his racing and is now up to a mark of 93, a career high by 2lbs on official ratings.

At the time of writing, he has just been declared to run at Chepstow in another Racing League event on Thursday, August 7 and no doubt he will once again try his very best to continue this memorable streak!