Mott, Hansen win at Eclipse Awards
January 16, 2012BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) - Bill Mott won trainer honors at the Eclipse Awards on Monday night, capping a year in which he swept the top two races at the Breeders' Cup.
Mott earned his third career Eclipse over fellow Hall of Famer Bob Baffert and Todd Pletcher, who led the nation's trainers in purse earnings with $16.8 million.
Mott saddled Royal Delta to victory in the BC Ladies' Classic in November and the next day his Drosselmeyer pulled an upset in the BC Classic. Last year, the East Coast-based Mott won 15 graded stakes races, including six in November. Mott had purse earnings of more than $10.5 million.
``The competition was pretty deep and this is a real honor,'' Mott said, thanking his assistant trainers, his horses and his family.
Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Hansen won 2-year-old male honors at the awards, which honor the top horses and humans of 2011.
Hansen beat out Union Rags, winner of the Saratoga Special and Champagne and runner-up in the Juvenile.
My Miss Aurelia, who won all four of her races, including the BC Juvenile Fillies, received 2-year-old filly honors. She is co-owned by Stonestreet Stables, the racing operation of Jess Jackson, who named the filly before he died of cancer last year.
Ireland-bred Cape Blanco earned male turf honors. He flew to the U.S. and won the Man o' War, Arlington Million and Turf Classic Invitational for trainer Aidan O'Brien. France-bred Stacelita took the female turf award.