Trainer Rex Lipp aiming to fulfil Cifrado owner’s spring carnival dream

Trainer Rex Lipp is determined to make a Lotto winner’s dream of having a runner in the Melbourne or Sydney spring carnival a reality with Group 2 winner Cifrado.

Lotto winner Cliff Little has long dreamt of having a runner in the Sydney or Melbourne spring carnival and so trainer Rex Lipp is going to grant him his wish.

Cairns owner Little - who collected a monster $40m on lotto from a $26 ticket - owns $1.7m earner and multiple Group 2 winner Cifrado who races in Little’s red and white racing colours which tip the hat to St George.

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Cifrado didn’t trouble the scorers in the Queensland winter carnival but Group 1-winning Toowoomba trainer Lipp knows he has a good horse on his hands.

It’s time to do some travelling with the four-year-old gelding in the spring.

“Cifrado is spelling and will be in the paddock for another 10 days, but he will go to Sydney or Melbourne in the spring,” Lipp said.

“The bloke who owns him would love to have a starter in Sydney or Melbourne.

“He has spent millions on horses and he would really like to see Cifrado racing down south.

“I haven’t picked anything out for him yet, I will talk to a few blokes and get an idea of what races would suit him early in the spring.

“We won’t be going down there for the big races, we will pick our mark.”

Cifrado wins the Lough Neagh at Eagle Farm: Picture: Grant Peters/Trackside Photography

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Meanwhile, Lipp thinks he can fire a shot at Ipswich on Saturday with last December’s Gold Edition Plate champion Superalloy.

It was the only race that Superalloy has won in his 11-start career but Lipp said don’t be surprised if Superalloy is in the money when racing in the $150,000 TL Cooney (1350m) at Ipswich on Saturday.

Lipp thinks bookmakers are offering a silly price, with Superalloy rated a $13 chance in a betting market headed by Stay Focused ($3.20) who has drawn barrier 17.

Superalloy drops in class after running a big race as a $151 shot in the Group 3 Fred Best Classic, being beaten 2½ lengths in a race where Lipp insists he should have finished closer to the winner Spicy Martini who then raced in the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap.

Superalloy is seeking another win on Saturday at Ipswich. Picture: Trackside Photography

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“It’s a big class drop for him on Saturday, he only got beaten two and a half lengths in the Fred Best and he got held up for a run,” Lipp said.

“I am sure he should have run a place in that race.

“The only time he let me down was in the Queensland Guineas, but it turns out he can’t run 1600m.

“He is a horse you can race up on the pace and he has drawn well which is the thing you want to do at Ipswich.

“I do believe he will be right in the money.

“Bailey Wheeler rides him and he rides him well.”

Originally published as Trainer Rex Lipp aiming to fulfil Cifrado owner’s spring carnival dream