Provoke (horse)

Provoke
Sire	Aureole
Grandsire	Hyperion
Dam	Tantalizer
Damsire	Tantieme
Sex	Stallion
Foaled	1962
Country	United Kingdom
Colour	Bay
Breeder	Jakie Astor
Owner	Jakie Astor
Trainer	Dick Hern
Record	7:4-1-0
Major wins
Melrose Handicap (1965) St. Leger Stakes (1965))
Last updated on July 26, 2008

Provoke (foaled 1962) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career which lasted from autumn 1964 until September 1965, he ran seven times and won four races. He won the Classic St Leger as a three-year-old in 1965, defeating Meadow Court by ten lengths. He was later exported to stand as a stallion in the Soviet Union.

Provoke was a bay horse with a narrow white blaze and white socks on his hind feet, bred and owned by Jakie Astor. He was sired by the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Aureole. His dam, Tantalizer was a good racemare who was placed in the Irish Oaks and the Ribblesdale Stakes and was a half-sister of the outstanding stayer Trelawny. As a descendant of the mare Popinjay, Provoke was a member of the same branch of Thoroughbred family 1-n which produced Swale and Shadeed.

Astor sent the colt into training with Dick Hern at stables in West Ilsley in Berkshire.

Provoke was slow to mature and was not highly tried as a two-year-old. He made his only racecourse appearance in late October, when he finished unplaced in the Theale Plate at Newbury Racecourse.

Provoke began the 1965 season by finishing fourth in the Glasgow Maiden Stakes at York Racecourse in early May and then finished second in the Shaw Maiden Plate at Newbury later in the month. He was never beaten again. In June, Provoke recorded his first win when taking the Childrey Maiden Stakes over thirteen furlongs at Newbury. He then won the Cranbourn Chase Stakes at Ascot in July and the Melrose Stakes at York in August.

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