Jockey Peter Robl admits there were times when he thought about walking away from racing for good.But a love for the job he has done for more than 20 years and the support of several close friends in the industry has him on the doorstep of his comeback at Canterbury on Saturday following his year-long disqualification."Once or twice I did (think about giving it all away)," Robl said."When you get the low points of your life there were a couple of times I thought about going and doing something e

Jockey Peter Robl admits there were times when he thought about walking away from racing for good.

But a love for the job he has done for more than 20 years and the support of several close friends in the industry has him on the doorstep of his comeback at Canterbury on Saturday following his year-long disqualification.

"Once or twice I did (think about giving it all away)," Robl said.

"When you get the low points of your life there were a couple of times I thought about going and doing something else. But when you've been doing it for 20 years, what are you going to go and do?

"And at the end of the day, you don't want to do anything else."

The Group One-winning Robl, along with good mate and Melbourne Cup winner Blake Shinn, were involved in a betting scandal last year and have both served 12 month disqualifications.

Robl was outed for betting on races through the TAB account of his wife Elaine but six months of his ban stemmed from giving false evidence at an initial inquiry as he tried to protect Shinn.

Under the rules of racing jockeys are not allowed to bet, even in races they are not competing in.

Robl got the green light to return to trackwork at the start of last month and has been competing in trials in recent weeks preparing for his comeback.

"The support from trainers has been outstanding all the way through the 12 months," Robl said.

"A trainer at Warwick Farm, Garry Neale, has been tremendous. I couldn't thank him enough for his support as a friend, not a trainer.

"Clarry Conners is the same.

"They are probably two people that I have been able to turn to and talk to and they've pointed me in the right direction throughout that 12 months."

Conners was the man who brought Robl to Sydney from the bush four years ago and it's fitting he is set to give Robl his first ride back two-year-old Diamond Start.

"I'll be happy to have him back and it would be a little bit of satisfaction on my part if I could give him his first winner back," Conners said.

"I've been making him work pretty hard and he's pretty fit. He looked after himself pretty well."

The 40-year-old Robl has also been riding work for the likes of Anthony Cummings who provided him with his first Group One winner.

Danny Williams at Goulburn has sounded Robl out for rides at Canberra next Sunday.

He admits he'll be "like a kid in a candy store" when he gets back to the races and confident he will return as good if not better than ever.

As for the disqualification and any regrets over what took place, Robl said he preferred to look ahead.

"There's not a human being walking the earth that hasn't made a mistake or hasn't woken up with a regret," Robl said.

"If you look back you trip over, so I'm looking forward and not backwards.

"The past is the past and the future is what you make of it. And I'm going to make the most of it."

Shinn's return has been delayed by complications in his recovery from a broken leg suffered in a fall at Flemington on Melbourne Cup day last year.