A salute to the stars and two mile race returning to Trentham this Saturday

The time-honored Chalmers Stakes (3200m) returns to Trentham for the Salute to the Stars race day some 20 years after the last running.

Over the years some wonderful stayers like Yemen, Palisade, Terrific, Il Tempo, Dandaleith (who ran a NZ record), Nearco King and Banderol were some of the notable winners. The last time the Chalmers was run was in 1991 when Michael Coleman saluted on Prince Haze; however that was over 2400metres. Nearco King won the last Chalmers over 2 miles back in 1982 when ridden by Jim Cassidy.

"There has been a ground swell of interest from our members as well as broad section of the racing community to see another two-mile race at Trentham and we are delighted to support the need to return to one of the finest tracks for stayers with the ultimate staying test," said Matt Reid, CEO of RACE Inc.

The race fits in well with the second staging of the "Salute to the Stars" race day which on Saturday sees Cup races dedicated to Booming, Mufhasa, Midnight Oil, Fort Lincoln, Anabandana, Jimmy Choux, Titch, Kings Rose, Wall Street and Barinka.