HADDINGTON-based owners Ray and Anita Anderson Green saw a plan come to fruition at Ayr Racecourse on Saturday when Martila won the feature race, the £30,000 Tennent’s Cup Scottish Champion Hurdle trial.

Second in the race last year, Ray formulated a plan that day to bring the Pauline Robson trained mare back to the track a year on and it paid off as she battled all the way to the line to win at odds of 7-1 from Alphabetical order.

A delighted Ray said afterwards: “She is really tough and she battled all the way to the line. We bred her and that my 421st winner.”

The most impressive winner of the day was the Malcolm Jefferson trained Cyrus Darius who was given time to recover from three errors before being produced by Brian Hughes after the final fence to pounce and win the Guinness Handicap Chase at odds of 5-2.

It was a brilliant ride from Hughes and this horse looks to have a bright future ahead.

Lucinda Russell saddled her second successive double at the track having had two winners on Monday and picked up where she left off with Miss Tiggy (8-1) winning under jockey Derek Fox in the Famous Grouse Mares Maiden Hurdle and Ask The Tycoon (5-1) landing the final race, a national hunt flat race, for young Blair Campbell.

Kerry Lee made the long journey from her Herefordshire yard pay off when Kris Spin won the Glenfiddich Handicap Hurdle over three miles for jockey Richard Patrick.

Henry Brooke rode Archive, trained by Brian Ellison to win the Magners Chase while Harry Hunt, the mount of Kielan Woods, gave Graeme McPherson his first ever winner at Ayr from his first runner in the Gordon’s Pink Gin Handicap Chase.