Rex Lipp is a trainer who waits for young horses to tell him when they’re good and ready for the serious stuff. Two year olds need to have a flashing light on their heads before the Toowoomba maestro will even consider an early campaign. He told me last July that he had four rising two year olds by Encryption on his property which had all broken in beautifully. Obviously the only one to meet Rex’s tried and tested criteria was the bay colt out of Madame Fly, who’d been a member of the Eureka Stud draft at last year’s Gold Coast Sale.
He’s the third foal of Madame Fly who at the time of the sale was the dam of four time winner Miami Fleiss and stakes placed Cochrane. The colt was a member of the first crop sired by Godolphin’s dual Gr1 winner Encryption, a son of elite performer Lonhro from four time Gr 1 winning mare Guelph. Encryption himself was the winner of just two races, but it was a pretty handy pair - a Gr2 Danehill Stakes and a Gr3 Black Opal Stakes. Perhaps his career best effort was a fast closing second in the 2019 Oakleigh Plate, less than a length from Booker. The Encryption colt’s impressive catalogue page was exceeded only by his imposing looks.
The overall package attracted the attention of Cairns businessman Cliff Little, a long time racehorse owner and generous supporter of racing in his hometown. Cliff was caught up in the hype of a very lively 2022 sale and had to fork out $320,000 to land the colt. His choice of trainer was Rex Lipp who’d prepared a handful of horses previously for the north Queensland racing enthusiast. “I tried a few of Cliff’s horses in the hope they’d measure up in Brisbane,” said Rex. “Unfortunately none made the grade, and he indicated that he might find me a yearling down the track. He was true to his word, and that yearling is now the winner of two Gr 2 races and a none too shabby $870,000.”
Damian Thornton gets Cifrado home in the Sires Produce from Snapback (Mark Zahra) - courtesy Trackside Photography.
It isn’t known if Cliff personally selected the colt’s name, or had some help from family and friends. The word Cifrado not only rolls off the tongue, but couldn’t be more appropriate. In the Spanish language “Cifrado” means “Encryption” - the process of converting readable content into decoded form. In an age when it’s becoming increasingly difficult to access attractive thoroughbred names, Cifrado is among the best. The fact that he’s a dual stakes winner, makes it sound even better.
For the time being Cliff Little intends to leave Cifrado as an entire. Most of the time he’s well behaved. For some reason best known to himself, he becomes a monster when it’s time to saddle him up. “It must be an adrenaline thing,” says Rex. “Around the stables he’s like a kid’s pony. He does his work with total professionalism, goes into his box and eats everything in sight. Even at the races he’s a gentleman until he spots the saddle over somebody’s arm. It takes three of us to saddle him up. He just becomes a boisterous stallion until the girth is tightened, and then he goes into the parade ring with no further problem. I’m sure it’s just that he knows what’s coming and doesn’t know how to contain anxiety. He’s getting a bit better each time, and I’m quietly confident he’ll give it away eventually. If he keeps winning million dollar races, I think I can put up with the problem.”
Rex decided to give Cifrado a two year old preparation, only when he saw signs of precociousness. The colt debuted with a second to Mishani Gangster over the Gold Coast 900m, and followed that with a second to Godfather over 1000m at Doomben. Two weeks later Cifrado stepped up sharply to Gr 3 grade in the B.J. McLachlan and missed a place after being held up at the 100m. Rex had seen enough and immediately sent him to the spelling paddock. The benefit of the spell was obvious when he resumed exactly four months later.
First up Cifrado came from well back to swamp a maiden field over 1100m at Ipswich with Boris Thornton in the saddle. A margin of almost 5 lengths spoke volumes for the win. Ten days later and with Damian Thornton replacing brother Boris, the colt was doing his best work late when a closing third to Appin Girl in the listed Dalrello Stakes of 1000m. It was clear he was needing further. The 1200m of the Gr 2 Spirit Of Boom Classic on May 13th was a step in the right direction. Cifrado was taken back from a wide gate by Damian Thornton, before poking up on the fence to be worse than midfield in the eleven horse field. He had only three behind him turning for home, with a big job ahead. It took him a while to hit top gear, but he was fairly flying as he burst between Armed Forces and Appin Girl in the last few strides to snatch victory. Rex Lipp couldn’t wait for the 1400m of Saturday’s Gr 2 Sires Produce Stakes.
Rex was horrified to see him begin awkwardly and drop to the tail of the eighteen horse field in the early stages. He needed a bit of luck, and a top ride from Damian Thornton. He got both. As was the case at Doomben he gave them a tidy start from the turn and took forever to wind up. He motored to the lead in the shadows of the post to win narrowly from Snapback and Chrysaor inadvertently impeding Make A Call when he rolled inwards close to home. Although Make A Call finished officially sixth, his rider Blake Shinn saw fit to lodge an objection which was quickly dismissed by stewards. “There were a few anxious moments, but Damian’s ride was a cracker, and the horse relished the 1400m,” said Rex. “We won’t even think about the immediate future until we monitor his progress over the next few days. The logical next step would be the $1 million J.J. Atkins Classic at Eagle Farm on Stradbroke day. The 1600m would be ideal at this stage of his preparation, but he’ll need to be right on his game at acceptance time. We’ll play the waiting game.”
Nobody plays the waiting game better than Rex Lipp. He rarely takes his eyes off his horses - courtesy Trackside Photography.
Speculation was rife this time last year that Rex Lipp was contemplating retirement. Fuel was added to the fire when he actually began a training partnership with Nicholas Hahn, but the pair have subsequently gone their separate ways. In the meantime, it’s business as usual for Rex who’s keeping his team numbers to a manageable sixteen horses. Two recent stakes wins by Cifrado will almost certainly regenerate his enthusiasm.
Rex was born and reared on the Darling Downs and has never looked like leaving. He learned about horses from his father and grandfather, who were both successful small team trainers. In his early years, the prospect of a full time training career didn’t appeal to the young Queenslander. Instead he accepted a full time job at Col McAlpine’s nearby Eureka Stud at Cambooya, one of Australia’s most successful thoroughbred nurseries. He stayed for twenty years, and may have continued had Colin not opted to wind back in the late 1980’s. Colin’s departure prompted Rex to try his hand as a professional trainer, a decision he hasn’t regretted for an instant.
Rex with the late Tim Bell after Tinto's win in the 2014 Queensland Oaks - courtesy Trackside Photography.
Three decades on, he has no idea how many winners he’s trained from his Toowoomba base. He’s grateful that Tinto and Star Shiraz took him to Gr 1 glory, and delighted that he’s had the opportunity to train a number of very talented horses. His very first win was with a filly called Rose Road in an Eagle Farm maiden in the early 1990’s. The filly in fact won seven of her first eleven starts and got her young trainer up and running. Rock ‘N’ Rage won four Brisbane races including a stakes event. Archikeelya gave the trainer his first Weetwood Hcp success - one of fifteen wins for the super tough gelding. Rex’s second Weetwood winner was Gene’s Interest who also won a Toowoomba Cup and a Rockhampton Cup. Gene’s Interest finished up winning a total of fourteen races for $542,000. The trainer added Toowoomba Cups with Director’s Special, Sir Sensible and Jussemi.
Lightly raced Tellson did a good job for the Lipp stable with four wins including a stakes race in Brisbane. He’ll never forget Tinto, whose seven wins and five placings yielded a healthy $1.4 million. He thought enough of the mare to bring her to Sydney for the 2015 Villiers in which she was weighted to give Happy Clapper a whopping 3kgs. She was far from disgraced in running second to a horse who would later win three high class Gr 1 races. In more recent times Our Beebee, Gem Of Scotland, Red Stina, In The Genes, Tycoon Evie and Simply Fly have all done their bit to keep the spotlight on the Lipp operation. The sparkle Rex had in the eye after The Sires Produce Stakes on Saturday was a dead giveaway. It’s a safe bet retirement is on the backburner for some time yet.
Rex with Tegan Harrison after Simply Fly's win in the Chief De Beers Quality at Doomen July 2022 - courtesy Trackside Photography.
(Banner image - The Sires Produce Stakes field charges head on to the camera in the closing stages of the Gr. 2 - courtesy Trackside Photography.)