Ben Hitchcott's race for the Amateur Riders' title this season has met with a setback.

The 20-year-old Robertsbridge-based rider was badly kicked when he fell from Sliabh Foy and was trampled at Plumpton and put him out of action over the rest of the Easter weekend.

But Hitchcott, just two ahead of Tom Scudamore in the title race which ends at Straford Upon Avon on June 2, is fighting to get fit for Kempton Park tomorrow.

He said: "I got plenty of general bruising, which has almost gone now, but the main problem is muscle damage in my upper left arm. However, that too is getting better each day. I'm having physiotherapy and hoping to ride out with a view to being passed fit for tomorrow."

He will also work out in the fitness centre and get in some swimming at the Spa Hotel in Tunbridge Wells to help his recovery.

All being well his comeback ride will be on Brackenheath in the 1.35 race at Kempton's extra fixture to help make up for the loss of more than 100 days this season.

He goes in boosted by the fact that Scudamore failed to strike in his absence over the holiday.

Another young rider on the injured list is 22-year-old Jamie Goldstein, who will be out for at least two months.

The Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup-winning rider also took a heavy fall at Plumpton on Saturday and the resulting cracked vertebra will be given every chance to mend.

But he knows it could have been worse. Speaking from the home of his parents, Lewes riding school owners Ray and Sue Goldstein, Jamie said: "It was only on Sunday that I felt bad enough to go for X-rays at the Sussex County Hospital in Brighton and the broken vertebra was diagnosed.

"Luckily it is not near the spinal cord but another inch could have left me in a wheelchair, so I guess I must count my blessings. At the moment I'm spending most of the day lying down, which is pretty boring, but it is the best thing to do.

"I do have a brace on my back which means that I can get up and walk about for a few minutes, but it is still pretty sore despite the painkillers."

This is the second serious injury Jamie has suffered since his epic Hennessy victory at Newbury last November.

In February, he damaged a leg badly enough to keep him out of the saddle for more than a week. To add insult to the injuries, Jamie got no further than the first fence in his first Grand National.

He said: "I was gutted. It had been so thrilling to be in the parade and down at the start. It was a real anti-climax.

"Actually my horse, Spanish Main, jumped the fence well, too well in fact, because he slithered onto his belly and shot me over his head. Never mind, there's always next year."