Unlikely owner and trainer combination aiming for Group 1 spoils

By Jordan Gerrans

For Rex Lipp, he believes Cairns’ Cliff Little is almost a perfect owner for a trainer to have.

In the last year or so, the FNQ-based Little has sent Lipp to the sales with a big whack of cash, allowed him to purchase whichever horse he wanted and then instructed him to train and place the galloper wherever he chooses.

Little and Lipp have never met, only speaking over the phone.

The veteran Toowoomba trainer would not even know what Little looked like if he walked up to him at the pub.

“As an owner, you could not get better,” Lipp said of Little.

Little has shown an abundance of trust in the experienced Darling Downs trainer to allow him to spend $320,000 at the 2022 Gold Coast Yearling Sales on a colt that is now known as Cifrado.

In return, Little just wanted to ensure Lipp would be able to win him a “nice race”.

After originally being targeted at the Magic Millions 2YO Classic, Cifrado is now a leading Queensland hope in the time-honoured Group 1 J.J. Atkins on Saturday afternoon.

Cairns’ Little has long raced gallopers but he has only recently joined the Lipp barn as an owner.

The 67-year-old has always been linked with the Trevor and Peter Rowe stable at Cannon Park in Cairns and it was Trevor who pushed Little in the direction of Lipp just over a year ago.

Trevor suggested Little get in touch with Lipp about spending a bit more than usual on a yearling after being impressed with Lipp’s attitude and skill set when they met many years before.

“Cliff is a great fella,” Peter Rowe said.

Little has also donated money to the Cairns Jockey Club in recent years. 

It has worked out perfectly for Lipp.

“I have not met him in person or never seen a photo of him but he is always on the phone,” Lipp says of his new big-spending owner.

“He just tells me “you are training the horse, it is your preparation and you do what you want to do with him”.

“All he wanted to do when we first bought him was to win a nice race with him.

“Cliff has been fantastic and given me full reign with this bloke to put this horse where I want with his races and his program.”

It is not just Cifrado who Little is enjoying a dream run with.

He also owns Smart Image for the Rowe stable, who has won six of his last seven starts dating back to late 2022.

Little sent Lipp to the sales and the stalwart trainer was of the belief an Encryption colt was the only youngster worth purchasing and the deal was done.

The 75-year-old Lipp has suggested to Little that he should come to Brisbane to watch his galloper in person in recent weeks as he has claimed a pair of black-type races leading towards the J.J. Atkins.

“It would be good to finally meet him in person but he has told me it is a bit too cold in Brisbane,” the trainer said with a laugh.

“Hopefully he can make it down at some stage.”

The two-year-old colt has enjoyed a stunning rise in recent weeks, racking up the Group 2 Sires’ Produce Stakes and Group 2 Spirit Of Boom Classic at double figure odds before heading towards the mile Group 1 race. 

Visiting hoop Damien Thornton has struck up a close partnership with Lipp and his colt in recent weeks and he will commence from gate seven on Saturday.

“It was a big effort and Rex has done a terrific job with him,” Thornton said following a recent victory.

While the team had the Gold Coast in their eyes at one point with Cifrado, Lipp thinks missing out on the Magic Millions was beneficial in the long run.

“It gave him more time to mature for the winter carnival,” he said.

Ahead of the feature two-year-old event for the winter on Saturday, Lipp says Cifrado came through the Sires’ Produce Stakes better than he did the Spirit Of Boom Classic and he is more than ready for Saturday.

The veteran trainer described his stable star as “big, bold and cheeky” in his work this week.

“He always showed me a lot of ability: raw ability,” Lipp said.

“It was just about waiting for the penny to drop and it is still not 100 percent there but it is on the way to being there.

“His run two starts ago was enormous, he was not entitled to run a place with a 100 metres to go but he had a burst finish.”

Lipp has long flirted with retirement from conditioning gallopers, dating all the way back to the 2014 Group 1 Queensland Oaks when he was successful with Tinto.

“Ever since then, I seem to have one handy one come through,” Lipp said.

“Another trainer told me the other day that he did not know me not have a good horse in the stable since back then, which is a great problem to have.

“Who knows, maybe if he happens to win on Saturday then I could say that is it and retire. 

“The man goal is the J.J. Atkins for Saturday and that is all I am worried about, I am not thinking about retirement.

“I just want to look after this fella and get him to the races on Saturday.”

As of Wednesday morning, Cifrado is rated as a $10 chance with the bookmakers.