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MOLLY PITCHER STAKES| PURSE: $250,000 | GRADE: 2 | 3-YEAR-OLDS AND UP | 1 1/16 MILES

OCEANPORT, N.J. -- Quiet Giant spent the winter winning minor stakes over the inner-track at Aqueduct. On Saturday, she took a major leap forward with a decisive victory in the Grade 2, $252,500 Molly Pitcher Stakes for fillies and mares at Monmouth Park.

A 4-year-old trained by Todd Pletcher, Quiet Giant turned the corner in two races this summer on the Jersey Shore. She won the Lady's Secret, the Molly Pitcher prep, by 6 3/4 lengths.

Then came the Molly Pitcher and a five-length romp as the 9-10 favorite.

The trip was perfect and Quiet Giant was flawless. Jockey Julien Leparoux positioned Quiet Giant second behind the front-running longshot Debonair Darling.

Quiet Giant effortlessly took the lead midway on the final turn as Leparoux momentarily second-guessed himself for a possible premature move.

"It was a great trip," Leparoux said. "She broke good. She put me in the race nice. The only thing was that I got the lead a little bit early. I was a little concerned about it."

Quiet Giant ($3.80) quickly banished all fears, drawing off to her seventh win in 12 starts.

Leparoux, aboard for the last two victories, thinks Quiet Giant has reached a new level.

"She was so sharp today and stronger than I anticipated," he said. "She's coming along very nicely. Every time you ask her, she does it very nicely. That's a very good filly, I think."

Payton d'Oro came on to get second. She is trained by Larry Jones, who minutes before the Molly Pitcher, won the Grade 1 Woodward at Saratoga with another filly, Havre de Grace.

Absinthe Minded got third. The time was 1:43.32 for the 1 1/16 miles on the fast track.

Hill 'n' Dale Farms, the Molly Pitcher sponsor, will offer stallion breedings to the connections of the first three finishers.

The Molly Pitcher, originally scheduled for Aug. 28, was postponed when that card was canceled by Hurricane Irene.

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