Dragoon Guard looks to continue his ascent in the 3-year-old division on Sunday in the Grade 3, $500,000 West Virginia Derby. The 1 1/8-mile race is the top offering of the Mountaineer Park season. Dragoon Guard has captured his last three starts in pace-pressing fashion, including a gate-to-wire victory in last month’s Grade 3 Indiana Derby at Horseshoe Indianapolis. “Based off pedigree and his physical, he’s bred to be a two-turn, mile and an eighth and farther type horse,” trainer Brad Cox told track publicity after the Indiana Derby. “We gave him time off, he came back, and he was definitely a bigger, better, stronger version of himself. The way he looks, and the way he trains, and just his attitude, he’s probably a horse that’s meant to be better as he gets older” Henro owns the field’s top Beyer Speed Figure, a 96 earned when upsetting Cox-trained odds-on favorite Just a Touch in the Iowa Derby on July 6 at Prairie Meadows. The 1 1/16-mile Iowa Derby was his first start around two turns. Henro raced once as a 2-year-old, finishing a troubled sixth behind eventual Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan. “That day, he probably should have run second,” trainer Chris Hartman said. “Stepped away a little slow, then went like nine wide around the turn. :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  “He got a little sick on us over the winter. We always thought he’d be better around two turns. I think the [nine furlongs] is definitely in his wheelhouse.” Society Man, second at 106-1 odds in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial at Aqueduct, rebounded from a 16th-place finish in the Kentucky Derby to post a rallying victory in the Grade 3 Matt Winn at Churchill Downs. “He came out of the Derby pretty well and won the Matt Winn pretty convincingly,” said trainer Danny Gargan. “He’s been breezing with Dornoch. Three works back, he breezed just as good as Dornoch, and then Dornoch went off that work and won the Haskell.” Late-running Agate Road, a Grade 2 winner on turf last year, returns to dirt for the first time since a seventh-place finish in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby on March 23. He previously finished second, beaten 1 1/4 lengths in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis on dirt at Tampa Bay Downs. Agate Road will receive Lasix for the first time in the West Virginia Derby. Lasix is not allowed in graded stakes races throughout the United States, but can be administered in West Virginia, which does not operate under the auspices of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority. Dimatic finished second in the Texas Derby at Lone Star Park on May 7, then was fourth, 3 3/4 lengths behind Henro in the Iowa Derby. Dimatic is trained by Steve Asmussen, who has won the West Virginia Derby a record six times, including last year with Red Route One. Next Level was Grade 1-placed at 2, but was beaten by Society Man in the Matt Winn and by Henro in the Iowa Derby. Maiden winner McQueen, a $25,000 auction purchase in April, graduated by seven lengths in his first start for trainer Manny Perez at Hawthorne. Mugatu will scratch to compete in Sunday’s Bald Eagle Derby at Laurel Park, according to trainer Jeff Engler. Baxley also will come out of the West Virginia Derby to instead run in a $50,000 claiming race at Hawthorne on Sunday, per trainer Larry Rivelli. West Virginia Governor’s Cox will send out morning-line favorite Hit Show in the Grade 3, $200,000 West Virginia Governor’s Stakes for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles on dirt. A graded stakes winner last year, Hit Show kicked off his 4-year-old campaign with a popular third-level allowance victory at Churchill on May 11. He then finished a disappointing seventh in the Grade 3 Cornhusker Handicap at Prairie Meadows on July 6. Like Hit Show, Extra Anejo was a good-looking winner of his 4-year-old debut, then regressed as the favorite when he jumped back into stakes company. The Asmussen-trained Extra Anejo battled for the lead to no avail in Churchill’s Hanshin Cup on June 30. Trainer Robertino Diodoro entered two in the Governor’s Cup. Komorebino Omoide, a Japanese-bred by California Chrome, returns to dirt after finishing third in the Texas Turf Classic at Lone Star on June 29. He previously earned a 103 Beyer wiring a non-winners of three lifetime allowance race there the previous month. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. “He’s still a very immature horse,” Diodoro said. “To get him to relax [better], we’re going to cut the blinkers back a little bit. He trains and looks like a good horse.” The well-traveled Heroic Move nabbed the Grade 3 Steve Sexton Mile at Lone Star on May 27 before finishing sixth in the Cornhusker. “No excuse,” Diodoro said. “Just came up a little bit flat. He’s not the best shipper, so we sent him over to Mountaineer a little bit early. On paper, [the race flow] sets up perfect for Heroic Move.” Discretionary Day, Tembo, Rose’s Pepino, and Play Chicken complete the field. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.