Emirates Affair breaks her maiden with strong late run

When Paco Lopez took Emirates Affair off the rail and swung her very wide heading into the stretch in the seventh race at Monmouth Park yesterday, it appeared as though the 3-year-old daughter of Handsome Mike had lost all chance. But Paco put her in another gear down the lane, and Emirates Affair made up six lengths late and was up to win by a length, breaking her maiden and giving her sire his 19th winner of 2021.

Emirates Affair was off fourth on the rail in the $45,000 maiden special that was switched from the turf to 5 1/2 furlongs on the main track, and Paco slipped her through on the inside to take over third on the turn. The wide move into the stretch that lost her a couple of lengths turned out not to hurt her, and the filly bred by Joe and Helen Barbazon earned a check for $27,000, raising her total to $62,100 on a record of 1-4-2 in 11 starts.