Baffert could wind up with two prime contenders

Trainer Bob Baffert took down the West Coast's most important prep for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies last weekend, when Cry and Catch Me captured the Oak Leaf during the Oak Tree meet at Santa Anita. Saturday, he has his sights set on the East Coast's final major prep, the Grade 1, $400,000 Frizette, with Indian Blessing.

She could go favored in the one-mile race at Belmont. Indian Blessing enters off a debut win at Saratoga in which she ran 5 1/2 furlongs in a quick 1:03.20. For the effort, she earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 97.

"Hopefully, she can win the Frizette," Baffert said. "It would be nice to go in there with two nice fillies."

Cry and Catch Me will be one of the most credentialed starters in the Juvenile Fillies. She is a Grade 1 winner at the race's 1 1/16-mile distance, which she achieved in the Oak Leaf. Coming off a maiden win going 5 1/2 furlongs, Cry and Catch Me was prominent in the Oak Leaf, then fought off a bid from Izarra. She won by a nose under Mike Smith in what served as a meaningful prep for the Breeders' Cup.

"That was a nice, tough race on her, which was good," Baffert said. "It really toughened her up. And she really, really showed so much grit. That horse had every right to just run by her and she did not let her run by her. So, that was pretty impressive, when they can do that at such a young age."

Cry and Catch Me is a daughter of Street Cry.

Indian Blessing is by Indian Charlie, winner of the 1998 Santa Anita Derby for Baffert.

"She has his mind," he said. "Cry and Catch Me and her are extremely intelligent horses that are very quiet. They don't get excited. They're very composed, and that's what you need. There's no wasted energy."

Garrett Gomez has the mount in the Frizette.

In another prep, Grade 1 Spinaway winner Irish Smoke will make her two-turn debut Friday at Keeneland in the Grade 1 Alcibiades.

Smarty Deb, now 4 for 4 after defeating colts in the $100,000 Gottstein at Emerald Downs for a Beyer of 81, was scheduled to fly to Monmouth on Thursday to begin preparations for the Juvenile Fillies, said her trainer, Doris Harwood.