Horse racing-Commanding Highland Reel wins Breeders' Turf

* Highland Reel steels limelight from Flintshire * Trainer O'Brien celebrates his sixth Turf winner (Adds quotes, detail) By Mark Lamport-Stokes ARCADIA, California, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Irish raider Highland Reel led the whole way to upstage favourite Flintshire with a commanding victory by a length and three-quarters in the $4 million Breeders' Cup Turf at Santa Anita Park on Saturday. Expertly ridden by Seamus Heffernan in bright afternoon sunshine, the four-year-old colt powered to the front and comfortably held off a late surge down the stretch by Flintshire, who also placed second in the 1-1/2 mile race in 2014. Ireland-bred Found, who won the prestigious Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe last month and was the joint second choice with Highland Reel for the Turf, stumbled out of the gate but recovered to finish two-and-a-quarter lengths back in third. It was the second win in eight starts this year for the well-travelled Highland Reel, who started at 7-2. He improved his career record to seven-for-19 while Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien celebrated his sixth Breeders' Cup Turf champion, with four of them coming in the past six years. "Seamus is a great lad and we were quite happy to make the running here," said O'Brien. "He (Highland Reel) is a very good horse and I'm absolutely delighted. "We know he gets a mile and a half very well. We know that he handles fast ground, he doesn't mind dictating, he doesn't mind sitting in, so it was straightforward, really. But Seamus executed it brilliant. "He kicked at the right time, and really the race was over from a long ways out. Ryan (Moore), who rode Found, said he knew there was no catching him for a long ways when Seamus left the way he was in front." O'Brien also saddled Found, a four-year-old filly who won last year's Breeders' Cup Turf for the Irish trainer at Keeneland. "Ryan said he got the filly in a good position, but the winner obviously got away from us," O'Brien explained. "She finished well." An elated Heffernan toasted his first ever Breeders' Cup win at the age of 44. "He's the type of horse that's brave in front," said the Irish jockey. "When he wants to go, you let him go and he turns it on. "I thought there were a few horses that were going to come from the back and come quick. So if I was going, I wanted to go early. I just stretched out the race, and I kicked when I should kick her, and it went very well." (Editing by Andrew Both)