Bast (horse)

Bast is a bay filly with no markings and was the first foal out of the Arch mare Laffina. She was sold as a weanling at the Keeneland November Sale, where she was purchased for $200,000 by Bloodstock Investments V, and was sold again as a yearling at the Fasig-Tipton New York Sale, where she was purchased by Baoma Corporation for $500,000.

Bast made her debut on August 11, 2019, at Del Mar in a 5+1⁄2-furlong Maiden Special Weight, where she finished second beaten by 1+1⁄4 lengths behind Inspiressa. She broke slowly, stalked in fourth position on the backstretch and turn, moved into second on the final turn and was clear of the third-place finisher by 4+1⁄2 lengths. Her next race was the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante Stakes, on August 31, where she stalked most of the race before winning by 8+3⁄4 lengths with a final time of 1:23.73 for 7 furlongs.^[2]

She followed this major victory up with another Grade 1 win, when she won the Chandelier Stakes on September 27 at Santa Anita. She stayed in second most of the race before dueling Comical for the lead, prevailing by a neck.^[3] On November 1, she competed in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, where she placed third behind British Idiom and Donna Veloce, beaten by 2 lengths.^[4] She finished out her 2019 season with a third Grade 1 victory, this time at Los Alamitos in the December 7 Starlet Stakes, besting rival Donna Veloce by half-a-length.^[5]