Pound for Pound gives trainer first stakes win in Louisiana Champions Day Classic

Pound for Pound gave jockey Aubrie Green one of the biggest wins of her career and trainer Andrea Ali his first stakes victory, beating Trevilion by a half-length Saturday at Fair Grounds in the $150,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic.

Trevilion set a slow pace under Diego Saenz, with Pound for Pound tracking his every step before taking the lead in the final half-furlong. The even-money favorite and the race’s winner last year, Underpressure, tried to get involved late but had fallen too far behind a soft pace and checked in 1 1/4 lengths behind runner-up Trevilion.

“This horse, he’s got a ton of heart,” said Green, whose Fair Grounds meeting had gotten off to a notably solid start even before this stakes win. “I wanted to be forward placed but I didn’t want the lead today. He seems to have a little more heart when he has something to chase.”

Trevilion, bouncing back from a subpar performance last out at Delta Downs, got a half-mile in a slow 49.22 seconds, making things tough on the late-runners like Underpressure, while Green managed to pull a perfect pressing trip. Pound for Pound drifted out the final sixteenth of a mile but did enough to wear down Trevilion, running 1 1/8 miles over a fast main track in 1:52.98. The winner paid $18.60.

Ali trains Pound for Pound for owner Israel Flores, and Pound for Pound, sold at auction as a yearling for just $5,000, is by Redding Colliery out of Buttercup’s Song, by Unbridled’s Song. Ali had one starter as a trainer in 2016 before showing again as a head trainer this year. He has won a handful of races at Delta Downs this fall and landed a big one Saturday in New Orleans.