Dragoon Guard won his fourth consecutive start when he led every step of the way in Sunday’s Grade 3, $500,000 West Virginia Derby for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles at Mountaineer Park. Piloted by Florent Geroux for trainer Brad Cox, Dragoon Guard broke well, took control racing under the wire for the first time, and set an opening fraction of 23.32 seconds while prompted from the outside by Henro. Dragoon Guard raced off the rail on the backstretch, relaxed beautifully up top, and received a nice breather through a half-mile clocking of 47.62. Society Man tracked the leader from the pocket entering the second turn, and jockey Corey Lanerie had thoughts of making a rail bid after six furlongs in 1:11.96. Lanerie decided to alter course outside Dragoon Guard entering the stretch, however, with Dimatic winding up a three-wide bid under Cristian Torres. :: Bet with the Best! Get FREE All-Access PPs and Weekly Cashback when you wager on DRF Bets. Dragoon Guard had another gear and stayed strong along the rail to prevail by 2 3/4 lengths in 1:49.96 seconds over the fast track. Dimatic sought to give trainer Steve Asmussen his seventh victory in the West Virginia Derby, but settled for second, 2 1/2 lengths ahead of Society Man. Henro finished fourth and was followed home by Agate Road and McQueen. Baxley, Next Level and Mugatu scratched. Dragoon Guard returned $3.40 as the odds-on favorite. A homebred owned by Juddmonte Farm, Dragoon Guard boasts regal bloodlines as a son of Arrogate out of Grade 2 winner Filimbi, herself a daughter of Grade 1 winner Flute. Dragoon Guard has scored four of five starts for lifetime earnings of $646,860. *** West Virginia Governor’s Cup Cox and Geroux swept the two featured races at Mountaineer as Hit Show sat back behind a fast pace, snuck through along the inside turning into the stretch, and got the better of wide-rallying Heroic Move in the Grade 3, $200,000 West Virginia Governor’s Cup for 3-year-olds and upward at 1 1/16 miles. Hit Show traveled comfortably in midpack as Play Chicken set fast and uncontested fractions of 23.35 and 46.93 seconds. Play Chicken raced well off the rail on the second turn, completed six furlongs in 1:11.63 while still barely in front, then faced a cavalry charge of challengers. Favored Extra Anejo bid outside of Play Chicken with stablemates Komorobino Omoide and Heroic Move even wider on the course. Geroux spied the open rail corridor, guided Hit Show through, and the ground they saved might have made the difference between victory and defeat with Hit Show driving home a half-length ahead of Heroic Move in 1:42.65. Komorebino Omoide placed another three-quarters of a length behind in third. Then came Extra Anejo, Rose’s Pepino, Play Chicken and Discretionary Day. Tembo scratched. Hit Show returned $4.80 as the second choice in the betting. The winner is a 4-year-old homebred owned by Gary and Mary West. Foaled in Kentucky, Hit Show is by Candy Ride out of Grade 2 winner Actress, by Tapit. Hit Show won two of three starts at 2, then won the Grade 3 Withers Stakes in his 3-year-old debut. After missing by a nose when second in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial, Hit Show competed in two-thirds of the 2023 Triple Crown series, finishing fifth in the Kentucky Derby and fourth in the Belmont Stakes. A winner in his first start this year, a third-level allowance at Churchill on May 11, Hit Show disappointed in his final prep for the Governor’s Cup, the Grade 3 Cornhusker Handicap at Prairie Meadows. Favored at 9-5 in that race, Hit Show finished seventh of ten. Hit Show boasts a record of 5 wins from 12 starts for earnings of $778,955. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.