Stadore's last points her out

ELMONT, N.Y. - Stadore may be second best of the two fillies trainer Patrick Biancone nominated to Saturday's $100,000 Sands Point Stakes at Belmont Park, but she may be good enough to get the job done in the Grade 3 race for 3-year-old fillies.

Of course, that all depends upon the race staying on Belmont's inner turf course. Thunderstorms are forecast Friday night into Saturday morning.

had 3 wins and 3 seconds from 6 starts in France last year for trainer Jean-Claude Rouget. In her North American debut, Stadore beat older allowance foes at Churchill Downs, receiving a stalking trip under Julien Leparoux, and winning despite changing leads very late. She earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 88 for the effort and has worked well at Saratoga since the race.

"If she just repeats what she did last time I don't think she has to improve too much,'' said Biancone, who held out the stakes-winning Lady of Venice for a different race. "She's in good form, she has worked well, she ran well for us the first time she ran. For sure, it'll be more difficult, but we're happy and we're very confident.''

The Sands Point field does not have much speed, and Stadore raced close enough to the pace last time to suggest she could be on the lead if nobody wants it. Leparoux rides Stadore from post 7.

Though would be the horse to beat on dirt, trainer Todd Pletcher has been wanting to get Wait a While back on the turf for quite some time. She won her maiden on the Belmont turf last September, but has raced on dirt ever since. Wait a While won the Miss Grillo Stakes, which came off the turf last October at Belmont, and finished third in the Demoiselle to end her 2-year-old season.

When a turf race didn't fill at Gulfstream to begin the year, Pletcher ran Wait a While in the Grade 2 Davona Dale, which she won by 14 lengths in the slop. Wait a While finished third in the Bonnie Miss and second in the Ashland before running fourth in the Kentucky Oaks.

"I've always felt she was a better filly on the grass,'' Pletcher said. "If she were to run really well here, I might run in the American Oaks [at Hollywood]. We need to find out where we are.''

merits consideration provided the turf course isn't too saturated. She showed a powerful turn of foot to win an allowance race at Aqueduct despite a slow pace.