National champion jockey elect Lyle Hewitson will not be riding on Gold Cup day.

He described missing the meeting as “heartbreaking” and said the mount he had been looking forward to most, among a good book of rides, was Return Flight, whom he felt would win the Grade 1 Thekwini Stakes.

Lyle Hewitson

Hewitson took a fall on the way to the start of the first race at Fairview last Friday and an x-ray revealed a fine chip on his left knee.

He will know the full prognosis after an examination tomorrow (Wednesday).

However, he confirmed he would not be riding “for a while”.

Anton Marcus is set to replace Hewitson on Return Flight. Raymond Danielson will replace him on Witchcraft in the Grade 3 ELan Gold Cup, Karl Zechner will replace him on Whitehaven in the Grade 1 Premier’s Champion Stakes, Ashton Arries will replace him on Trip To Heaven in the Grade 1 Mercury Sprint and Yeni will replace him on Bulleting Home in the Grade 1 WSB Champions Cup.

Hewitson has wrapped up the championship already, with just over a week to go, as his 185 winners are 41 clear of second-placed Yeni.

He will become the first rider since Gerald Turner to receive the national championship trophy as an apprentice. In the first of Michael Roberts’ eleven championship-winning seasons he started the season as an apprentice but was a fully-fledged jockey by the time he received the trophy.

Hewitson has already smashed the record for the number of winners as an apprentice despite having only made his professional debut on March 6, 2016. However, he did have the advantage of race-riding experience as he had ridden 23 winners in workrider races before joining the South African Jockeys Academy.

By David Thiselton