Michael Kinane has conceded it is now all but impossible for him to catch Pat Smullen in the race for the jockeys title.

Kinane is five behind Smullen and will have just the eight races on the last day of the season at Leopardstown on Sunday to achieve a miraculous turn around.

He misses out on the penultimate meeting of the year at Thurles this afternoon and while not yet ready to completely throw in the championship towel, Kinane admits he is unlikely to stop Smullen.

"Mathematically it's still possible but realistically it's not. I needed to ride a few winners last week at Clonmel and Tipperary and that didn't happen," Kinane said yesterday.

"Unfortunately I have prior commitments and I won't be at Thurles. When Limerick gave up their meeting I wasn't able to change those plans. I haven't given up on the championship, and I will be at Leopardstown, but it looks unlikely now," he added.

Kinane will remain busy after the Irish season is over as he already has a number of winter commitments.

"At the moment I'm supposed to be going to a super-jockeys competition in Japan and I would expect to be in Hong Kong for the International races there in December.

"That will take me up to Christmas and afterwards I expect to be riding for a month to five weeks in Hong Kong, probably from mid-February to March 17th. It will keep me busy," Kinane said.

Technically Smullen can wrap up the title today as he has six rides in the races open to him. The best of them, however, could be the luckless Ballerine who again tries to break her duck in the mile and a half maiden. The Sadler's Wells filly found Zanara a neck too good at Clonmel last week but she is Smullen's pick over stable companion Turtle Dancer.