The Maple Leaf Mel feel good story continued Saturday at Belmont Park after the speedy 3-year-old filly remained undefeated with a convincing 2 1/2 length victory over the previously unbeaten Dazzling Blue in the $150,000 Victory Ride Stakes. Maple Leaf Mel was named by her owner, Hall of Fame football coach Bill Parcells, for her new trainer Melanie Giddings who has worked with the filly from the time she first joined the barn of former trainer Jeremiah Englehart during the spring of her 2-year-old campaign. The New York-bred daughter of Cross Traffic came into the Grade 3 Victory Ride perfect in four starts, the first three wins coming against statebreds, the most recent a 1 1/2-length victory in the Grade 3 Miss Preakness at Pimlico on May 19. Parcells officially turned Maple Leaf Mel over to Giddings, who went out on her own near the end of 2022, after that race with the Victory Ride to be her stiffest test yet. One she passed with flying colors under regular rider Joel Rosario. Maple Leaf Mel sprinted clear before going a sixteenth of a mile then set an honest pace while under stout restraint in the run down the backstretch.  She readily disposed of 3-2 favorite Red Carpet Ready while still in hand leaving the turn, withstood a mild challenge from Dazzling Blue through mid-stretch and won going away at the end. :: Get ready for summer racing with a DRF Formulator Quarterly PP plan Dazzling Blue had not been seriously challenged in any of her three previous victories, all of which came in gate to wire fashion. She was content to sit in the garden spot under jockey Flavien Prat making her graded stakes debut in the Victory Ride, saving ground while kept within easy striking distance of the leader from the outset. Prat tipped Dazzling Blue off the rail to make a run at Maple Leaf Mel upon settling into the stretch but proved no match, switching back to her left lead while tiring some through the late stages. Vahva raced a bit wide and was best of the others while never seriously threatening the top pair, finishing third, a length and one half behind Dazzling Blue.  Interpolate appeared to stumble briefly a few strides out of the gate, quickly dropped far back and was never a factor, checking home fourth, 11 lengths behind the winner. Red Carpet Ready proved a major disappointment returning to New York for a second time in a month after having a previously scheduled start in the Jersey Blues Stakes cancelled, along with the remainder of the June 8 card at Belmont Park due to unhealthy air quality resulting from wildfires in Canada. She raced in perfect position stalking the winner during the early going but came up empty after five furlongs, retreating steadily to finish a distant seventh in the field of eight 3-year-old fillies.  Maple Leaf Mel completed 6 1/2 furlongs over a fast track in 1:15.74 seconds and paid $7.50. Maple Leaf Mel was given a 99 Beyer Speed Figure. “I haven’t eaten all day. I’ve been kind of nervous. I actually have to make the drive back to Saratoga tonight, I have some workers in the morning. This will make the drive a lot easier,” Giddings said after the race. “I was more nervous for the filly than myself. I don’t even feel like it’s about me. I just felt like she was 4 for 4 and I would just hate for her to have anything bad in her life. She’s been so good to me. “It definitely gives me a big relief. She’s amazing. She’s won at Aqueduct, Belmont, twice at Saratoga, and Pimlico. She’s pretty incredible.” As expected, Giddings said the Grade 1, $500,000 Test Stakes at Saratoga would be next up for Maple Leaf Mel. “That would be the goal. I hope the whole group is there. In a way, we’re all part of the team. I’ve been texting [previous trainer] Jeremiah [Englehart] all day about the filly and he wished me the best of luck,” Giddings said. “I wish he could have been here with me." :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.