William "Mac" Macdonald (1800–1856) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

who most notably won the 1840

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

on Little Wonder, a horse that was almost certainly four years old and therefore ineligible for the race. During the race, the favourite,

Launcelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants (such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago' ...

, ridden by Bill Scott, got to the front close to home. As Little Wonder made his challenge, Scott, who had backed Launcelot to win a large sum, called across to Macdonald, "a thousand pounds for you if you stop him!" Macdonald didn't, replying, "too late, Mr Scott, too late." It was to be his only Derby victory and for winning he was presented with a whip by Prince Albert. He was born in

Shoreditch Shoreditch is a district in the East End of London in England, and forms the southern part of the London Borough of Hackney. Neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets are also perceived as part of the area. In the 16th century, Shoreditch was an impor ...

and rode for trainer Samuel Pearce. He married, and later became a trainer himself at

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

. He also rode in

trotting The trot is a ten-beat diagonal horse gait where the diagonal pairs of legs move forward at the same time with a moment of suspension between each beat. It has a wide variation in possible speeds, but averages about . A very slow trot is someti ...

races.

Major wins

Great Britain *

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey o ...

- '' Little Wonder (1840)''

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, William 1800 births 1856 deaths British jockeys British racehorse trainers People from Shoreditch Sportspeople from the London Borough of Hackney