Talented Pencarrow gelding Sunset Boulevard (NZ) (Eminent) started a new chapter of his career on a winning note in Wednesday’s $25,000 Ecolab (1650m) at Waverley.

The Rating 65 race was Sunset Boulevard’s first start for respected Wanganui trainer Kevin Myers, having previously recorded a win and three placings for Steven Ramsay and Julia Ritchie.

The four-year-old was sent out as a $3.80 favourite on Wednesday and scored a stylish win for jockey Lily Sutherland.

Sunset Boulevard settled in midfield, then moved forward and loomed just behind the leaders coming up to the home turn. He was briefly held up at the top of the straight, but quickened well when Sutherland got him into clear air. He stretched out strongly through the last 100 metres and won by a head.

Sunset Boulevard has now had 10 starts for two wins, three placings and $40,185 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 19 winners from 60 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).