A highly successful week for Pencarrow’s racing team continued at Ruakaka on Wednesday with a maiden victory by promising three-year-old Sunset Boulevard (NZ) (Eminent).

That latest win followed on from a notable trans-Tasman double on Saturday by exciting three-year-old fillies Waikato Girl (NZ) (Savabeel) and Tomodachi (NZ) (Tarzino).

Sunset Boulevard’s victory in Wednesday’s $17,000 Ruakaka – NZ’s Best Bet in Winter (2100m) was a step or two below that level, but nevertheless hinted at a bright future for the emerging stayer.

A strong-finishing second placegetter in both of his previous starts, Sunset Boulevard was sent out as a hot favourite on Wednesday at $2.30. Sunset Boulevard was ridden for the first time in Wednesday’s race by Michael McNab, who managed to cross from a wide gate and take up a position in fourth and one off the rail.

McNab inched closer to the leading pair coming up to the home turn, then swung to their outside at the top of the straight. Sunset Boulevard soon warmed into his work and hit the lead at the 200-metre mark, taking command and winning by a length and a quarter from the strong-finishing Li Li (NZ) (Ardrossan).

The Steven Ramsay and Julia Ritchie-trained Sunset Boulevard has now had three starts for a win and two seconds, earning $15,910 in prize-money.

Sunset Boulevard was bred by Pencarrow Thoroughbreds Ltd and is raced by Sir Peter Vela, whose famous blue and white hooped colours were also worn by the winner’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. Now he has made a promising start at stud, including two winners in the Pencarrow colours – Sunset Boulevard and the recent Otaki winner Uplifting (NZ). Eminent’s oldest progeny are three-year-olds.

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).