Jimmy Quinn, the oldest professional rider in Britain, was going to announce his retirement at Newmarket on Tuesday, but he had since announced that he would ride until the end of the season.
Throughout his 40-year career, the 56-year-old has experienced several significant race successes. Most notably, he made the most of his low weight when he came in to ride on John Best's swift two-year-old Kingsgate Native, which gave him his first Group One victory at York's Nunthorpe Stakes in 2007.
Quinn thought it was time to call it quits after realising that the Charlie Hills-trained Bodorgan was his only scheduled ride at the Craven meeting this year. However, he was now convinced to continue for the rest of the year.
“It (licence) runs out today and word got out on the street pretty quick (regarding the planned retirement),” he told Racing TV. “I got a few phone calls, positive ones from senior riders and other people riding, and one of them said ‘Why are you packing up at the start of the season, why not ride for a bit longer in the summer? I’m going to reapply for my licence again and ride until probably the end of the season on the turf and then say thank you very much. I’ve had a lot of support over the years and I’ve had a few good phone calls to say keep going with it. I have no weight issues, I’m pretty fit and ride out every day. Even if I get 20 rides between now and then, it’s 20 rides. I enjoy it a lot still, it’s a great job and it keeps you young. It keeps you active and gives you something to aim at every day.”