While scratched down to a field of four, the $11,000 Preferred 2 Pace at Grand River Raceway saw no shortage of action as Sportsline went from last-to-first to score on Monday (July 21).
Leaving from the outside post four as the 4-1 third choice in the wagering, driver Lorne House settled Sportsline at the tail of the field early while Arties Ideal (Samuel Fillion) raced to the outside of Ideal Perception (J Harris) through a hot opening quarter of :26.4. Arties Ideal took the field to the half in :55.3 when House tipped Sportsline first-over, moving alongside the leader to three-quarters in 1:24.3.
The two continued to exchange blows around the final turn with Arties Ideal maintaining a short lead at the top of the stretch with the field fanning out four-wide behind him. Sportsline wrestled command away from Arties Ideal when Harborlite Ambrose (Austin Sorrie) tipped off his cover to make a late bid, coming up a half-length short on the wire with Sportsline stopping the timer in 1:53. Arties Ideal finished a length back of the winner in third, with Ideal Perception finishing fourth.
Trained by Patrick Bissett for owner Craig Parrott, Sportsline has now won five of 18 starts in 2025. The nine-year-old son of Sportswriter-Angel In Disguise is a 39-time winner for his career, having banked $347,191 in lifetime earnings.
To view Monday's harness racing results, click the following link: Monday Results - Grand River Raceway.
(Standardbred Canada)