NEW ORLEANS — Mission Impazible pulled ahead just past the sixteenth pole to win his first race as a 3-year-old in the $750,000 Louisiana Derby on Saturday.

The Todd Pletcher-trained colt, ridden by Rajiv Maragh and starting from the second post at 7-1 odds, covered the 1 1-8-mile course in 1:50.32 on a dry and fast track at the Fair Grounds.

Mission Impazible was in the middle of the 13-horse field near the end of the backstretch, but moved up to third coming out of the final turn before passing A Little Warm for his second career victory in one of the final major prep races for the Kentucky Derby.

A Little Warm, trained by Tony Dutrow, held on for second, three-quarters of a length behind the winner and a neck in front of third-place finisher Drosselmeyer.

Coming off a second-place finish in the seven-furlong Hutcheson Stakes at Gulfstream Park, A Little Warm was racing around two turns for the first time with David Cohen in the saddle.

After breaking out of the gate in front and gaining the rail in the first turn, he set the pace under pressure from Risen Star Stakes winner and Louisiana Derby and 7-2 favorite Discreetly Mine, which ran with the leaders down the stretch but finished a neck behind Drosselmeyer for fourth.

Discreetly Mine, ridden by Javier Castellano, also is trained by Pletcher.

Drosselmeyer, trained by Bill Mott and ridden by Kent Desormeaux, had been fourth in the Risen Star Stakes, a 1 1-16-mile race at the Fair Grounds in February.

Mission Impazible paid $16.20, $7.20 and $5. A Little Warm paid $8.60 and 5.80. Drosselmeyer, which started from the 13th post, paid $4.20.