Fans will be treated to a dazzling display of speed Saturday at Bay Meadows when the very quick geldings Giovannetti and Hombre Rapido hook up in the $125,000 Bay Meadows Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. III).The Bay Meadows BC Sprint will be run at six furlongs, the highlight of closing weekend of the 2004 spring meeting. The season concludes Sunday, when the main event is the $55,000-added Foster City Handicap.Giovannetti and Hombre Rapido both have one way of running - gun for the lead and hope to hang on."He's gone," said Frank Monteleone, who trains 5-year-old Giovannetti. "If somebody wants to run with him fine, but he's going.""I believe this horse is the fastest horse in the field," said John Sadler, who conditions 7-year-old Hombre Rapido. "We're going to the front. The break is the key. With two fast horses, it's who can get the jump on the other one."Giovannetti has won eight of his 19 career starts and $329,003. In his most recent appearance in the Bay Area, he captured the $100,000 Ken Maddy Sprint at Golden Gate Fields on Feb. 21.Hombre Rapido has been victorious in five of his 21 lifetime starts and has made $313,330. Winner of the 2003 running of the Los Angeles Handicap (gr. III), Hombre Rapido will make his Northern California debut Saturday.If Giovannetti and Hombre Rapido run each other into the ground, the stretch-runner Debonair Joe may be the beneficiary. A grade I winner of $393,575, Debonair Joe showed signs of coming into top form when he closed strongly to finish third in the Saratoga Handicap at Bay Meadows on May 22.
"He's coming back and running real well right now," said trainer Sergio Ledezma of the 5-year-old gelding Debonair Joe. "We're taking a shot just like everybody else."Ten horses are entered in the Bay Meadows BC Sprint. $125,000 Bay Meadows Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. III), 3 & up, 6 furlongs
PP. Horse, Jockey, Weight
1. R. Baggio, Frank Alvarado, 116
2. Smile N Wildcat, Chad Schvaneveldt, 115
3. Cappuchino, Chance Rollins, 115
4. Hombre Rapido, Russell Baze, 118
5. Debonair Joe, David Lopez, 116
6. Green Team, Ron Warren, Jr., 119
7. Court's In Session, Roberto Gonzalez, 112
8. Sirpa, Miguel Perez, 115
9. Giovannetti, Danny Sorenson, 117
10. El Dorado Shooter, Dennis Carr, 116
