A change of scenery has worked wonders for Pencarrow’s Sunset Boulevard (NZ) (Eminent), who brought up his second win from just three starts for new trainer Kevin Myers when he took out Saturday’s $40,000 Wanganui Motors (2040m) at Wanganui.

The gelding showed early promise for his original trainers Steven Ramsay and Julia Ritchie, collecting a win and three placings from nine starts. Since his shift into Myers’ Wanganui stable, he has recorded a win in the $25,000 Ecolab (1650m) at Waverley, a close fourth at Trentham and Saturday’s success on his new home track.

Jockey Lily Sutherland took Sunset Boulevard back from his wide gate on Saturday and spent the majority of the race clearly last of the 11 runners. Heading down the back straight, he was three or four lengths behind the second-last horse.

Sutherland allowed him to move closer coming down the side of the track, rounding the home turn in seventh and well within striking range.

Sunset Boulevard warmed into his work down the outside of the home straight and soon began to surge into contention. He finished over the top of Blue Jeanie (NZ) (Satono Aladdin) in the final 100 metres to take the lead, then held out the late finish of Uncle Arch (NZ) (Tivaci) by a long neck.

Sunset Boulevard has now had 12 starts for three wins, three placings and $65,185 in stakes. He was bred by Pencarrow Thoroughbreds Ltd and is raced by Sir Peter Vela, whose famous blue and white hooped colours were also worn by Sunset Boulevard’s sire Eminent.

Sir Peter Vela raced Eminent throughout a 14-start career that began in the United Kingdom with a victory at Newmarket as a two-year-old. He added the Group Three Prix Guillaume d’Ornano (2000m) at Deauville and Newmarket’s Group Three Craven Stakes (1600m) as a three-year-old, along with a third in the Group One Irish Champion Stakes (2000m) and a fourth in the Group One Epsom Derby (2400m).

An Irish-bred son of the legendary racehorse and superb sire Frankel, Eminent later travelled to Australia, where he ran second behind Avilius (Pivotal) in the Group One Ranvet Stakes (2000m) at Rosehill. He now stands at Brighthill Farm and has made a promising start, siring 23 winners from 62 runners to date. Sunset Boulevard, Uplifting (NZ), Golden (NZ) and Unequivocal (NZ) have all scored victories in the Pencarrow colours.

The dam of Sunset Boulevard is North of Sunset (NZ) (Red Ransom), who is a half-sister to the stakes winner and Group One-placed Pencarrow mare Wildflower (NZ) (Keeper). North of Sunset is also a blood-sister to the Group Three winner and black-type producer Amaryllis (NZ) (Red Ransom), while her dam Zygadene (NZ) (Zabeel) is a blood-sister to the dam of multiple Australian Group One winner Humidor (NZ) (Teofilo).

Sunset Boulevard’s fourth dam is the multiple Group One winner and prolific broodmare Habibti (Habitat), a half-sister to the legendary Eight Carat (Pieces of Eight).

Sunset Boulevard is the second winner from two named foals out of North of Sunset, who has also been represented by six-race winner Palm Springs (NZ) (Super Easy).