Little Wonder, winner of the Derby, 1840, in a stable

In 1840 Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort attended the Derby thereby giving the event national recognition. The favourite for the big race was at 9-4 Lord Westminster's Launcelot, brother of Touchstone and winner the year before of the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster, equal second favourites at 7-2 were Lord Albermarle's Assassin and Mr Etwall's Melody colt. Little Wonder, a colt by Muley out of Lucerta, purchased for a mere sixty-five shillings at the sale of the Underley yearlings, was an outsider at 50-1. As the race begun, Launcelot was in the front and looked very much like winning, but the very hard ground ideally suited Little Wonder who challenged strongly in the final furlong and mastered the favourite to win by a length. He was ridden by 'Little Macdonald' one of the youngest jockeys in the race and was trained by William Forth who was said to have won some £18,000 on the race, having concealed, even from Mr Robertson, the very important fact that Little Wonder had a year in hand.

Little Wonder only ran once again as a three-year-old, finishing second in the Ascot Stakes.