It may have taken some time, but Wonder Boy returned to the winner’s circle in impressive fashion at Bendigo on Saturday, securing his second career win with a breakthrough Stakes victory.

The Jerome Hunter-trained gelding claimed his first black-type success in the $200,000 Listed Bendigo Guineas (1400m), ending a winless streak that dated back to his debut triumph at Flemington in June last year.

Despite recent setbacks, Hunter never lost confidence in the son of Cosmic Force, who was a weanling purchase by owner Graeme Gathercole.

“I’ve been happy with his whole preparation, a lot of people have gone off him, but I’ve had faith in the horse and I know he’s just going to get bigger and better as he gets older,” Hunter said.

“I was in Queensland with Barb Raider when Graeme Gathercole asked me to go down and have a look at him and we bought him as a weanling.

“So, it’s been a long time and to get him to win a Listed race, it’s fantastic.”

Sent out as the $3.10 betting site favourite, Wonder Boy produced a determined finish under jockey Jamie Mott to defeat Kalkallo by half a length, with Rue De Royale ($4.80) holding on for third, a neck away.

“I thought if we could begin good, I had the leader inside me in barrier seven, that we could potentially slide over and come with it and it worked out perfectly,” Mott said.

“I got across really easy and he travelled great. He is a horse that hits a bit of a flat spot, but late he really got into gear and it was a good win.”

The victory followed a strong second to Lazzura in the Group 2 Phar Lap Stakes, and Hunter has his sights set on even bigger targets for the promising three-year-old.

“The Queensland Guineas is in three weeks’ time, so we’ll aim for that and we’ll just see where we’re at with him after that what we do but, long-term, as long as he gets his rating up, I’d like to go for the Golden Eagle.”