In the following year he won the Prix Jean de Chaudenay in France before establishing himself as a high-class stayer with an emphatic win in the Jockey Club Cup.
[4] Little Wolf was from the second crop of foals sired by Grundy, an outstanding racehorse who won The Derby and the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes in 1975.
[6] Little Wolf began his three-year-old season at Newmarket Racecourse in spring when he ran in the ten furlong Heathorn Stakes, an early trial race for the Epsom Derby.
The colt then showed good form in defeat when finishing second to Glint of Gold in the Great Voltigeur Stakes at York Racecourse.
In the final quarter mile the race developed into a contest between Little Wolf and Baffin (also trained by Dick Hern), with the favourite prevailing by a neck after what Timeform described as a "tremendous tussle".
In July he was sent to Germany and finished second to Orofino in the Grosser Preis von Berlin, after which Carson offered the opinion that the 2,400m distance was too short for the colt to show his best form.
Little Wolf started the 2/1 favourite for the Group One race over 3100m at Longchamp on 24 October but appeared unsuited by the very soft ground and finished sixth of the thirteen runners behind Denel.
Little Wolf began his season by being dropped down in distance for the John Porter Stakes over one and a half miles at Newbury and finished second to the four-year-old Diamond Shoal to whom he was conceding six pounds.
Ore started the 7/4 favourite after a win in the Henry II Stakes, with other contenders including Line Slinger, Balitou, Khairpour and Indian Prince.
[14] Carson sent the favourite into the lead three furlongs from the finish and held the late challenge of Karadar to win by half a length, breaking the course record by three seconds.
[2] Little Wolf remained in training as a six-year-old, with the Gold Cup as his target, but sprained a tendon when finishing third to Harly in the Henry II Stakes and was retired from racing.
[2] In their book A Century of Champions, based on a modified version of the Timeform system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Little Wolf as an "average" winner of the Gold Cup.