Cifrado set to end Lipp's Eye Liner drought

By Glenn Davis

It’s been 32 years since Toowoomba trainer Rex Lipp won his first and only Eye Liner Stakes at Ipswich with his former top sprinter Quick Response.

Fast forward to now and Lipp senses Cifrado can end his long running drought in the 1350-metre Listed feature on Saturday.

Cifrado - a Boris Thornton mount - was an eye catching second when beaten in a bob of the head finish by the Rob Heathcote-trained Abounding in the Group 3 BRC Sprint at Doomben on May 23.

“The rider dropped the whip at the 200 metres in the BRC Sprint but who knows if it cost him the race,” Lipp said.

It followed a similar performance when the gelding flashed home to win the Listed ATC Trophy at the Gold Coast two weeks earlier.

Lipp produced a master training feat to win the ATC Trophy as it was Cifrado’s first start for 23 weeks.

Cifrado’s form was good enough to warrant paying an $18,000 late fee to start in the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap at Eagle Farm last Saturday.

However, owner Cliff Little got his money back when Cifrado was named an emergency and failed to gain a start.

“We paid a late fee to get into the Stradbroke but he never got a run so it didn’t cost us anything in the end,” Lipp said.

“Who knows how he would have gone in the Stradbroke as the track for him was a bit average.”

Lipp is confident Cifrado will be competitive in the Eye Liner before deciding whether to head next to the Listed Glasshouse Handicap at the Sunshine Coast or Listed Ramornie Handicap at Grafton next month.

“He’ll race well but he’s got a lot of weight,” Lipp said.

“I want to get the Eye Liner out of the way and see how he goes before making a decision about the Glasshouse or Ramornie.”

The Eye Liner Stakes is one of three black-type features along with the Listed Ipswich Cup and Listed Gai Waterhouse Classic.

Apart from his Eye Liner success with Quick Response, Lipp won the Gai Waterhouse Classic with Au Chocolat in 2005 but is yet to train an Ipswich Cup winner.