ELMONT, N.Y. – It would appear that Bill Parcells has been asked a lot lately about his new trainer Melanie Giddings. “Melanie Giddings is more popular than Taylor Swift,” said Parcells, the Hall of Fame football coach. When it comes to the Parcells-owned 3-year-old filly Maple Leaf Mel, no one could fault Giddings if she was to be heard singing a few bars of the Swift hit “You Belong With Me.” Maple Leaf Mel, a 3-year-old New York-bred daughter of Cross Traffic, was named by Parcells after Giddings, a native of Canada. Giddings worked with the filly from the time she came into trainer Jeremiah Englehart’s barn in the spring of 2022 through this spring. When Giddings decided to go out on her own – a decision made late last year – Parcells ultimately determined Maple Leaf Mel should stay with her. “She has been with Maple Leaf Mel pretty much every day that Mel has been training,” Parcells said Sunday. “I was impressed with her last summer in terms of how she was helping get the horse prepared, and you know the results were good. “She’s had quite a bit of experience under some good people, so when she decided to go on her own, I just couldn’t in good conscience not put that Maple Leaf Mel with her,” added Parcells, who also has a pair of 2-year-olds with Giddings. Maple Leaf Mel is now part of an about 11-horse string that Giddings has stabled in Saratoga. Saturday, Maple Leaf Mel will put her unbeaten (4-for-4) record on the line in the Grade 3, $175,000 Victory Ride Stakes at Belmont Park. Though she won the Grade 3 Miss Preakness at Pimlico last out, Maple Leaf Mel likely will face her sternest test yet in the Victory Ride when she meets, among others, the talented graded winner Red Carpet Ready. “I always love running her,” Giddings said. “It’s a little more pressure this time since I have to deliver in my own name.” :: Get Belmont Park Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the Clocker Team. Available every race day. While Giddings will be looking for her first stakes victory in her name, she did two weeks ago win her first two races when Fight and Ready She Is won on the same June 21 card at Presque Isle Downs. “If you want people to give you horses, you need to get that win,” said Giddings, who is 2 for 23. “They’re hard to come by when you’re trying to do it with your own horses starting off.” Fight, a horse Giddings claimed for $16,000, was lost at the claim box for $20,000 the night he won. Coincidentally, Giddings bought Ready She Is from Parcells, who was looking to cull some of the cheaper stock from his stable. Giddings, 39, will be stabled at Saratoga for the summer, something she was not necessarily planning to do this year. “For someone starting off, it’s kind of a scary place to come to,” Giddings said. “It’s expensive, it’s tough, obviously. I didn’t plan on it, but I accumulated a couple of more horses.” Giddings has plenty of experience with scary. In 2020, she was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian and endocervical cancer. Following significant treatment, Giddings appears to be cancer-free. After having to see the doctors every three months for follow-up visits, Gidding’s most recent check-up was good enough where now she only has to go every six months. “This is the first time I get to go that long,” Giddings said. “It’s kind of nice.” Giddings grew up in Coburg, Ontario, and said she was introduced to horses by her aunt at a young age. Coming to the racetrack was not in her early plans. “When I was a little kid I wanted to be an Olympic show jumper,” she said. “I never really thought about being at the racetrack.” But in her teens, she found herself breaking babies at a farm and wound up at Woodbine, where she tried to ride races. When that didn’t work out, Giddings began exercising horses for Roger Attfield. :: Take your handicapping to the next level and play with FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic.  “I was a lot better at working horses than riding in the afternoons,” Giddings said. In the United States, Giddings worked for Mark Casse, Steve Asmussen, and Al Stall Jr. Before she was diagnosed with cancer, she then went to work for a vet, Dr. Kevin Dunleavy. When she finished her cancer treatments, Giddings began working as an assistant for Englehart, for whom she said she had previously worked on and off for a few years. Maple Leaf Mel showed to be quite talented, winning twice in 17 days at Saratoga before sore shins sent her to the sidelines. She came back this year with an authoritative victory in the East View Stakes in March before successfully handling open company in the Miss Preakness. “She just loves to run,” Giddings said. For Parcells, who turns 82 in August, Maple Leaf Mel could turn out to be one of the best horses he’s ever owned. “I’ve been in this a long time, I know they’re few and far between,” he said. “I’ve had a couple of what you’d call decent horses that have done pretty well and I’m no expert. People tell me this horse has a chance to be pretty special. So far, she’s been impressive.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.