Australia: Bucharest jumps from maiden win to handicap at Warwick Farm

His pedigree has influences from the top of Japanese and Australian racing. His stable is known for producing top-class runners.

No wonder Bucharest is a highly regarded 3-year-old in Australia. The colt won his debut in a maiden race at 7 1/2 furlongs at Newcastle Racecourse on Aug. 13 and will have his second start in a one-mile handicap at Warwick Farm Racecourse outside of Sydney on Wednesday.

Trained by Chris Waller, who guided Winx to her 33-race winning streak from 2015 to last year, Bucharest figures to be favored in a field of nine.

Bucharest has a friendly weight assignment. He will carry 119 pounds, far less than topweight Bentley Magic at 130 pounds.

Bucharest is by top Japanese stallion Deep Impact and is out of Miss Finland, a five-time Group 1 winner in Australia in 2006 and 2007 at distances ranging from six furlongs to 1 9/16 miles. Miss Finland is the dam of Stay With Me, a Group 1 winner in Australia in 2015.

Bucharest, who will be ridden by Kerrin McEvoy, will start from post 4. At Newcastle, Bucharest stalked the pace and won by three-quarters of a length over the Waller-trained Zarzou.

At Warwick Farm, Bucharest’s main threat is the Waller-trained Miyake, a winner of 2 of 7 starts. Miyake, a 4-year-old by Deep Impact, also has a notable pedigree. He is out of Star Fashion, a Group 3 stakes winner in 2014 who was second in the Group 1 Schweppes Oaks at Morphettville Racecourse the same year.

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Miyake, who will carry 129 pounds, has not raced since a win in a handicap at 1 3/16 miles at Canterbury Park in April. James McDonald has the mount at Warwick Farm. McDonald rode Bucharest in his debut.

Those runners are likely to be in pursuit of Gemmahra, who led throughout a seven-furlong handicap at Newcastle on Aug. 22 for her fourth win in 15 starts. A 5-year-old mare, Gemmahra tends to set the pace. She closed from fifth in a field of 10 to win a one-mile handicap at Nowra Racecourse last December.

First post time at Warwick Farm is 11:25 p.m., Eastern, or 8:25 p.m., Pacific, on Tuesday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.