By Mike Kane
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Owning a very similar name and the same color, sire, owner and trainer, Mel's Baby Sister (Cross Traffic) was moved Wednesday into the stall occupied by the late Maple Leaf Mel (Cross Traffic).
Despite the names given to them by owner Bill Parcells, the NFL Hall of Fame coach, to honor trainer Melanie Giddings, Maple Leaf Mel and Mel's Baby Sister are not related.
Maple Leaf Mel was on her way to victory in the GI Test S. Saturday when she suffered a catastrophic leg injury near the finish line. She was euthanized on the track. Her stall was vacant for three days and was turned into an impromptu memorial for the 3-year-old New York-bred. Trainer Brendan Walsh, whose filly Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief), ended up finishing first in the Test, brought the winner's blanket of flowers to Giddings Sunday morning and it was placed in the front of the stall. The floral arrangement has been moved to the front of the shedrow to make room for Mel's Baby Sister.
“I didn't want to put anybody in there, but I needed the stall today,” Giddings said. “I thought, 'Whether it's today or next week it's going to have to happen sooner or later.' I felt like if somebody should go in there, it's her.”
Parcells purchased the 2-year-old Mel's Baby Sister in May for $110,000 at Fasig-Tipton's Timonium Sale.
“They have a lot of the same personality,” Giddings said. “You know what? Maybe there is something to a name. I don't know.”
Giddings, 39, said she is beginning to recover from the tragic loss of the star of her small stable.
“A little better every day,” she said. “I think keeping busy helps everybody. Even my staff. Keep them busy and just try to keep everybody's mind OK and in a positive way.”
Giddings is quite familiar with dire situations. In June 2020, the native of Coburg, Ontario was diagnosed with Stage 4 endocervical and ovarian cancer. She underwent 10 hours of surgery to remove tumors, six rounds of chemotherapy and 28 radiation treatments. She recovered and in 2021 returned to the racetrack as an assistant for Jeremiah Englehart, who trained for Parcells. When Giddings decided to open her own stable this year, Parcells moved Maple Leaf Mel to her care.
It was a winning combination. Together, the Maple Leaf Mel team picked up three stakes victories: the East View for New York-breds, the GIII Miss Preakness S. in May at Pimlico and the GIII Victory Ride S. in early July at Belmont Park. The unbeaten gray was about 10 yards from a victory in the Test when she was injured.
Giddings said she has been overwhelmed by the number of people who have reached out to her since Saturday.
“It's pretty incredible,” she said. “I said to somebody the other day, 'I didn't even hear from this many people when I was dying.' I knew she was popular. Did I think she was that popular? No.
“I guess a lot of it was half the horse and half the people messaging me about their battle with cancer as well. It just shows you that there is good in horse racing.”
Giddings said a fundraiser has been established by the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance in Maple Leaf Mel's name.
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