Foot abscess will keep Tatters to Riches out of Oklahoma Derby

ARCADIA, Calif. – A quarter crack and ensuing foot abscess has derailed Tatters to Riches, the California-based stakes winner who would have been among the favorites in the Grade 3, $400,000 Oklahoma Derby on Sunday at Remington Park.

Trainer Jeff Mullins confirmed Wednesday that Tatters to Riches would not travel, and will be out of serious training until recovering from an abscess in his left front.

“If it was just a quarter crack, he’d probably be training already,” Mullins said. “With the abscess, it’s going to take longer.”

Tatters to Riches won the Shared Belief Stakes on Aug. 25 at Del Mar, his second win since returning from a layoff necessitated by a bone chip as a 2-year-old. Tatters to Riches, a Union Rags colt purchased for $1 million at a 2-year-old sale, has won 3 of 4 starts, all for Red Baron’s Barn and Rancho Temescal.

Despite the emergence of a quarter crack early this month, Tatters to Riches posted two sharp recent works, including a six-furlong work on Sept. 17.

“Two days later, the abscess came out, and that was the end of it,” Mullins said.

The setback is untimely, but relatively minor. Mullins looks forward to the colt’s 4-year-old campaign.

“If we can keep him together until his older year, we should be sitting in the driver’s seat,” he said.