Born on February 11, 1996 in Sidcup, Kent, Clifford Lee attended the British Racing School in Newmarket before becoming apprenticed to local trainer Ed Walker. He took his first ride on Duke Of Destiny, trained by Walker, in a handicap at Nottingham on April 29, 2014 and rode his first winner, Persona Grata, also trained by Walker, in an apprentice handicap at Wolverhampton on December 2, 2014. After a single winner in 2014 and another in 2015, Lee moved north to join Karl Burke in Coverham, North Yorkshire and rode his first winner for his new boss, Felix Leiter, in a handicap at Lingfield on May 25, 2016.
Thereafter his career has been one of steady progression, as his stock has risen alongside that of Burke. Lee rode 24 winners in 2016, 39 in 2017 and 32 in 2018, thereby riding out his claim and, as stable jockey at Spigot Lodge, he has continued to flourish. On June 18, 2021, Lee rode his first Royal Ascot winner, Significantly, trained by Burke in the Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes. He said afterwards, “It’s unreal, to be honest. “This is what I’ve been aiming for since I left school.” On May 21, 2022, he rode his first Pattern winner, El Caballo, in the Group 2 Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock. On August 18, 2022, he added a second, Swingalong, in the Lowther Stakes at York; at the time of writing, he has since added 25 more to his career tally.
On October 26, 2025, while suspended and on holiday in Scotland, Lee suffered a serious neck injury in a fall from a cross-country motorbike. According to Burke, “He [Lee] wasn’t doing anything stupid. He was apparently going at less than ten miles an hour, but it flipped over and he landed on his head.”
Lee was placed into an induced coma after breaking his first cervical (C1) vertebrae but, at the time of writing, is reportedly recovering well amd hopes to return to competive race riding in late Februrary or early March 2026. Describing his injury, he said, “It was a straight break. The way I’d landed was like throwing a dart into a dartboard. My spine had gone through the C1 and split it in four places.”
Prior to his accident, Lee had ridden a career-best 94 winners in Britain in 2025 and his first Group 1 winner, Venetian Sun, in the Prix Morny at Deauville on August 24. Ironically, he had also won on his last four rides.