Bonfire will need to equal a modern day weight-carrying record to give Gai Waterhouse back-to-back wins in the $150,000 Grafton Cup.

Waterhouse won the race last year with Queenstown and Bonfire is second favourite to replicate his stablemate's feat, although he will have to do it with topweight of 59kg.

The only horse to have carried that handicap to victory in the past 40 years was Oppressor in 1995.

Waterhouse has followed a similar template to the one she used with Queenstown who won the Grafton Cup at his third run from a spell.

Bonfire goes into Thursday's feature third-up after finishing second in the Winter Cup last start.

"Queenstown won it off a similar preparation last year and Bonfire's certainly done enough miles," Waterhouse's stable representative Mark Newnham said.

"He's still carrying plenty of weight but natural improvement, back on a firmer track than what he's had, that will advantage him as well."

Kapour is the early favourite to give in-form trainer Ciaron Maher his second Grafton Cup with Mr O'Ceirin winning two years ago.

The import was a runaway winner of the Winter Cup on a heavy track last start but will strike a firmer surface at Grafton.

The Cup is the feature race on Thursday's program, the second leg of the two-day July carnival which includes Wednesday's Ramornie Handicap won by the Liam Birchley-trained Rock Royalty.