Montbrook, Florida’s Leading Sire, enjoyed a big day at Mountaineer Park on West Virginia’s biggest day of racing Aug. 1, as Shadowbdancing cruised to a dominant 8-length win in the $125,000 West Virginia Governor’s S. and Big Drama fell just a neck short while running second in the $750,000 West Virginia Derby one race later.

Shadowbdancing has gotten exceptional this year as a 4-year-old, winning three of his last four starts in stakes. His lone defeat came in the $350,000 Cornhusker H. (G2) at Prairie Meadows in June where he was a game second. In Saturday’s W.V. Governor’s S., he showed his top current form by strolling to the easiest of front-running victories, hitting the wire all alone in 1:44.10 for the 1 1/16-mile event.

Trained by Terrel Gore, Shadowbdancing moved his earnings to $338,995 in picking up his fifth stakes victory lifetime. The dark bay colt now owns a record of 7-4-2 from 17 starts for owner RNB Racing LLC, which purchased him for $200,000 as a 2-year-old in 2007 at OBS from Ocala Stud.

One race after Shadowbdancing’s gallant win, Montbrook’s top 3-year-old Big Drama carved out a fast early pace and nearly wired the $750,000 Derby. Also an attractive dark bay colt, Big Drama opened up a sizable advantage early in the race and ran through ambitious fractions before getting caught in the final jumps of the nine-furlong event. His hard-luck runner-up finish still placed him in front of Kentucky Derby Mine That Bird, who was another 1 ½ lengths back in third in the contentious field.

Trained by David Fawkes, Big Drama has earned $1,217,250 for owner and breeder Harold Queen. The colt has won five stakes including sweeping the trio of Florida Stallion Series stakes at Calder and winning the Grade 3 Delta Jackpot S. last year as a 2-year-old. He owns a record of 6-2-1 from 10 career starts.