African wins in a one-way Affair Handicap debutant African Affair sprang a shock at 40/1 in the Return Of The Jumps At Navan Racecourse September 19th Handicap (Div 1) at Navan over a mile and two furlongs. Not sighted in three runs in maidens, this relatively inexpensive son of Sands Of Mali was buried in mid-division against the rail in the early stages of this race. He made smooth progress under Robbie Colgan from over two furlongs out and struck the front inside the final furlong. The Making Memories Racing Club-owned gelding picked up well and asserted to win comfortably by three lengths from the 13/8 favourite Make The Tide. Nephin Mountain (10/1) ran another creditable race back in third, beaten a further half-length. "We've always liked him,” commented winning trainer Sheila Lavery. "He just took a big, huge growth spurt and got a little bit sore in his feet, so I just backed off him. "I really thought today the ground was going to be too fast. He looked very uncomfortable down the back, and then Robbie said he just gave him a chance to get into it and then away he went." Additional reporting by Michael Graham.
