That collaboration gives the men with young families equal time to travel to meetings while ensuring one of them stays home to carry on working with the animals.
Lowry and "very good horseman" Cullen, who is a trainer in his own right after winning the Wellington Cup with Miss Bailey, are taking three horses to the low-key Christmas at the Races on Sunday. They have scratched Speed King from the 2100m race two after the 5-year-old gelding "wasn't feeling 100 per cent".
Pivotal to their success is the ability to find common ground, regardless of outcomes at meetings.
"We're enjoying stringing successes and losses together," says Lowry, suspecting they worked in tandem before the likes of Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman although a host of other combos were starting to cotton on to the idea.
The Lowry/Cullen partnership's key horse on Sunday is Kininmont in race 3, the maiden 1600m Bostock NZ Mile at 4.03pm with Kelly Myers in the saddle.
The KJ Browne bred-and-owned Kininmont is coming off as a runner-up over the same distance in Woodville on a dead 6 track on October 26.
"I think he is improving with every run," says Lowry of the 5-year-old gelding. "He doesn't lack ability but lacks ring craft."
Put in layman's terms, the horse desperately needs "match practice".
"Like rugby, you can't beat game time," says Lowry, suspecting Kininmont's inexperience has probably cost him better performances.
No doubt the trainers have expected more from a horse that "lacks confidence around other horses".
In the field of 16 is a rash of other training duos such as Baker/Forsman, Sue Walsh/Bruce Gregory, Sue Thompson/Mick Brown, Stephen Autridge/Jamie Richards and Emma Lee/David Browne.
Going solo are Bay mentors John Barry, Corrina McDougal, Patrick Campbell, Kirsty Lawrence and Kelly Burne.
While Lowry, 45, expects a stiff challenge from Baker/Forsman's Jubilant, he and Cullen's preoccupation is with ensuring their horses enter races "with a happy frame of mind".
"He's [Baker] a top performer and when he brings them over they are the hardest to roll but we don't worry about that."
The Hastings trainers' Flare will race for the first time, in the 1200m Stella Artois sprint.
Lowry's father, Pat, has bred and owns the 4-year-old mare.
"Flare lacks a couple of runs and hasn't travelled before so it might take her a race to get up to speed so she should give a good account of herself but she needs a good track."
A dead track will suit all their horses but on account of rain for the past two days Waipatiki Girl is partial to heavy 10 after Rosie Myers rode her to victory over 1400m in Woodville on August 20.
The 5-year-old mare, who has a career earnings of $13,500, is in Sunday's last race, Stock NZ Independent Investors Agents, over the same distance at 5.15pm.
"We need a bit of luck to go our way," says Lowry before Rosie Myers' ride.
The Lowry/Cullen alliance has Voxer (with jockey Jonathan Parkes) in race seven, the maiden 1400m Trinity Hill at 4.39pm.
The 5-year-old gelding, by Savabeel and out of Lady Ista, is coming off a six-month layoff after finishing last in Taupo on December 30 last year.
Jonathan Riddell rode Voxer to second place at a Melbourne Cup day race in Otaki on October 18 last year.
Lowry feels Voxer will be more competitive around Christmas.
"Good draws always help so anything inside eight is often a big help," he says as Flare (7) and Waipatiki Girl (5) find a happy place.
On Tuesday, Lowry/Cullen had a bitter-sweet moment when Myers took Oscar's Shadow over the line first in a 1400m race only to have it stripped off the title for "interference" on the second placegetter.
Powerade was third in another race.
