Pelethronius unbeaten on heavy ground

Wet-track specialist Pelethronius has maintained his flawless record on heavy ground and stayed unbeaten this preparation with a perfectly timed run at Randwick.

The five-year-old gelding reeled in Conarchie ($14) in a benchmark handicap (1400m) on Saturday after looming four-wide under Tye Angland before scoring by 1-1/4 lengths on a heavy 8.

Level Eight ($5.50) was a head further behind in third.

“(Pelethronius) is loving the wet tracks. He was comfortable throughout the whole race,” said Angland, who finished a successful meeting on 101 winners for the season.

“I wouldn’t say I was worried but he dropped the bit for two strides before the corner and as soon as I rolled him into it around the bend and got off their backs I knew I was going to be very competitive.

“He surprised me late how strong he is.”

Pelethronius ($9) has won all three races this campaign and is four-from-four on heavy tracks, offering further proof the off-season is his chance to shine.

“We’re in at the right time of year. It’s good to see him excel. He’s going through his rides nice and it’s interesting to see how far he takes it,” trainer David Pfieffer said.

“Tye had him in a good spot. He had the barrier (6) to have him where he needed to be. It was good to see him let down.”

Pfieffer will not rule out Pelethronius stepping up in distance over winter, perhaps to 2000m.

“We’ll let him show us the way,” he said.