Golden Garden made the transition from flat racing to hurdles without a worry winning on debut at Casterton on Sunday.
Golden Garden settled towards the rear of the field with the solid race tempo. He jumped well for the majority. Down the back on the second occasion, jockey Dean Parker made up several lengths by taking the inside rails runs, he always travelled strongly into the straight and was able to negotiate the last two hurdles safely to go on and score by 0.75 lengths. Golden Garden seemed to relish the soft track conditions and was strong through the line. The more racing he does over the hurdles, he will only get better as he learns his new trade.
Golden Garden has been a great money spinner for connections since joining the Wilde Racing stable, including a thrilling 4th in the 2024 Jericho Cup. With his ability to stay and mix both codes, the ownership group will have some fun over the coming months.
Congratulations to the winning connections.
