Brendan Powell was today looking forward to another crack at the Ladbroke Casinos Scottish Grand National as he tried to deflect rumours he is set to quit in favour of a training career.
Powell, ready to try to win the Ayr race for the second year in a row aboard Young Kenny, insists he has set no date for hanging up his riding boots.
"People keep trying to retire me but I'm going to do it in my own time - whether it be in the next hour or in the next year," he said.
"I heard some say I would be retiring after the Grand National but I just don't know where all these stories are coming from.
"Then there was another suggestion that it might happen after the Scottish National. All I know is I'm looking forward to riding at Hexham on Monday.
"It is true that I plan to take up training when I do pack in but at the moment I don't know when or where that will be.
"I certainly haven't got a training base in mind in the Newbury area - for one thing I couldn't afford it!"
Powell, 39, is confident of a bold showing from Young Kenny in Ayr's £70,000 showpiece on Saturday should the nine-year-old get the go-ahead from trainer Peter Beaumont.
"We're getting plenty of rain at the moment and if it's like that up at Ayr that will be a big help," the jockey said.
"Young Kenny has 13lb more to carry than last year and he's up against good young horses like Paris Pike and Birkdale but he's already shown he can do it in this race."
Powell is hopeful that Young Kenny's exertions in the Grand National - he fell at the 10th - have not taken too much out of the horse.
"It was an easy fall and I managed to catch him pretty quickly, so he probably didn't waste too much energy," he said.
"I know that Peter has had the back man to check Young Kenny and everything seems fine. I'm sure Peter wouldn't run the horse unless he was 100 per cent happy."
