It confirms the fuss-free image of former jump jockey Russ Garritty when he replies "no-one wants to read about me" when asked for a brief interview about what he is up to now.

But while it is all too easy, and disrespectful, to stereotype him as the no-nonsense Yorkshireman who spent countless seasons on the northern circuit, this just isn't someone interested in sitting down in an armchair reminiscing about the glory days.

Garritty remains at the heart of Tim Easterby's operation at Great Habton near Malton, transferring to his role as assistant trainer as soon as his riding boots were put away almost two years ago.

The boots have only been put away metaphorically of course, as he is as busy as ever out on the gallops.

"It's like being any sportsman, playing football or rugby or whatever, you're going to miss it but you can't do it forever. This is the next best thing," says Garritty.

"I was 41 and never going to be champion jockey. I got offered the job and it was the right time to retire. I dare say a lot of people wonder what they are going to do next.

"I live a quarter of a mile away from Tim's, my wife and kids are settled here and there was no point upping sticks.

"For the last two or three months when I was riding I was helping out at Habton anyway and it was the right thing to do."

Garritty, who is originally from Normanton near Wakefield, is part of the furniture at the historic yard where Easterby's father Peter won Gold Cups and Champion Hurdles with Night Nurse, Sea Pigeon, Little Owl and Alverton.

He has no desire to become a trainer himself.

"No chance, no chance whatsoever," he says definitely. "It's a combination of everything but this is as far as I want to go with it, being assistant. I'll do this until I get the sack.

"I have been here since I was 18 and I'm still riding out - I've still got to earn my fee.

"I really wanted to be a footballer or a rugby player but I wasn't any good at that and I moved here when Tim's father was training.

"There was no point shopping around - if I didn't make it here I wasn't good enough and that was that. But there was a lot of luck involved, too."

Most of Garritty's big winners came for other trainers - the Victor Chandler Chase and the Game Spirit on Tom Tate's Ask Tom and perhaps his most important success in the 2002 RSA Chase on the Peter Beaumont 33-1 outsider Hussard Collonges.

Other races like the Becher Chase with Young Kenny and the Peter Marsh on Scotton Banks fell his way, but Garritty prefers not to pick a favourite riding memory.

"I honestly don't have one," he says. "I don't like to pinpoint anything in particular as I just got to do what I wanted to do since I was 15.

"I think every day was a great day as I was getting well paid to do a job I loved doing.

"Even if you were on a novice chaser and thinking 'here we go again' I wouldn't have changed it for the world. It was better being on a building site in cold weather."