Little Wonder, a "beautifully brilliant bay" horse who stood 14.3½ hands high was bred by Alexander Nowell at Underley Hall near Kirkby Lonsdale in Westmoreland where his sire Muley was based.

His early stud career was disappointing and he had been covering half-bred mares for some time before being bought by Nowell and relocated to Underley where he had considerable success.

In the Houghton meeting in late October he showed improved form when starting at odds of 4/1 and finishing second of the eight runners to Assassin in the Nursery Stakes.

[5] At Epsom on 3 June Little Wonder started at odds of 50/1 for the Derby, in which he was ridden by a little-known and inexperienced jockey named Macdonald.

Although the result was a huge upset, some commentators pointed out that a strict interpretation of his two-year-old form against Assassin should have led to him being regarded as a serious contender.

[6] George Tattersall, in "The Cracks of the Day" wrote that "whilst Launcelot and Melody were fighting for the bone, our little lurcher crept in quietly and carried it off".

Ridden by Nat Flatman, he started 4/6 favourite but finished second, beaten a length by the filly Darkness, to whom he was conceding twenty-four pounds.

Carrying topweight of 126 pounds he ran a "capital" race to finish third to Galanthus and Disclosure, despite being injured and "much over-weighted".

By contrast, the victory of the "ringer" Running Rein in the 1844 Derby provoked an immediate objection and a subsequent court case.