Richard Hughes was seen at his best when extricating Ryefield from a pocket on the rails to gain a dramatic last-stride success and help set a new personal best score for local trainer Linda Perratt in the Tote Scoop6 Stakes at Ayr yesterday.

Hughes completed a 188 to 1 double with another breathtaking effort as he brought that grand old campaigner Amron from last to first to take the Busy Lizzie Handicap.

The Irish jockey was having his first ride for Miss Perratt who was topping her previous best score of 16 two seasons ago, and she explained: "Richard is good and has a tremendous record at Ayr so we were pleased to get him."

Despite his 12 years Amron still loves the game and was tackling 10 furlongs for the first time. Trainer Jack Berry's son Alan was moved to say of Hughes: "Your man is really something else, Amron was nearly tailed off turning for home but Richard got a great run out of him, it was amazing."

Hughes flew north with Kieren Fallon and they arrived in plenty of time for the first race, even though their plane from Stansted was delayed 20 minutes.

And their colleagues must have been wishing that the flight had been cancelled altogether, as Fallon also struck twice, on Mark Johnston's Splash Out in the opener and Richard Fahey's Princely Dream who returned to form in the Ayr Flower Show Classified Stakes.

Fallon explained: "The plane we were using had to drop off some passengers at Stansted, but really we were only about 20 minutes late. We had a friend waiting to pick us up at Prestwick."

Splash Out and the runner up FZero were the subject of some big wagers from the offices, and they had the race to themselves - the former staying on the better to score by half-a-length.

Darryll Holland lost the ride on Splash Out after upsetting Johnston by arriving too late to partner stable companion Gaelic Storm in Sweden on Sunday.

Encounter ran out a clear-cut winner of the Lady Isle Selling Stakes in the hands of Neil Kennedy.