DEL MAR – A festive Breeders’ Cup weekend at Del Mar took a tragic turn Saturday when Jayarebe, a 3-year-old French colt, died suddenly after suffering an apparent heart attack following the $5 million Turf.

Jayarebe finished seventh in the field of 13 for the 1 ½-mile race, which was won by Rebel’s Romance. Trained by Irish native Brian Meehan, Jayarebe was making his sixth start of the year and eighth of his career. He had won four times, including the Grade II Prix Dollar four weeks ago at Longchamp in his home country.

“The initial report from the vet is that it was a sudden death,” a spokesman for Del Mar Thoroughbred Club said. “Probably a heart attack.”

“Jayarebe collapsed on the racetrack while he was being pulled up,” Dr. Al Ruggles, the on-call veterinarian for American Equine Racing Practioners, said on NBC. “ … These type of events are hard to predict.”

A statement from the Breeders’ Cup said: “During the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar, Jayarebe suffered what appears to have been a cardiac event on the gallop out. He was immediately attended to by a team of veterinary experts led by Dr. Brent Cassady, but unfortunately passed away. His jockey, Sean Levey, was uninjured.”