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Half-Bred Family Quick Links
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Family B-4: Piersfield Mare
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This relatively late Irish family produced precocious juveniles and fast three-year-olds. R.B. Henry, a Northern Irish sportsman, purchased a black mare around 1890. The only thing known about her breeding was that she was by the Lothario son, Piersfield, a winner of four Queen's Plates. She herself was a hunter, and entered the stud after being injured by a kick, when she was about eight years old, producing eleven foals, four of which won National Hunt races, includng Sunstroke, winner of a £300 hurdle race at Phoenix Park and other jump races. Her daughter Moonflower, by Captivation, bred Hugh O'Neill, a winner of £2,300 in nineteen races under both Rules, and Magic Moon, who won eleven steeplechases and hurdle races. Another daughter, My Lady Molly (by Massacre, a son of Muncaster), failed to win, but got a good flat runner, Molly's Birthday (by Captivation), who won Leopardstown's Cadogan Plate and in England, was second the Wrack in Manchester's Lancashire Nursery. Captivation, a son of Cyllene, was located at a nearby stud, and heavily used by R.B. Henry.
It was the Piersfield Mare's daughter, Lady Piersfield, born in 1904, by Royal Cherry (a son of the good jumper sire Cherry Ripe) that continued the line. Lady Piersfield produced the filly Dark Eyes to the cover of Captivation, who was the broodmare sire of a number of good runners, including Diomedes and Hot Night. Dark Eyes won a juvenile race at the Curragh, and at age four won three races on the flat and once over hurdles. In the C.L. Mackean stud in Ireland she bred four winners: Cydgar, a winner of one race who was later sold to Ceylon; Dargos, winner of three races, later sent to India; and two steller daughters, Sweet Wall, winner of the Irish Cambridgeshire and second in the Irish One Thousand Guineas and third in the Irish Oaks, and Soloptic, winner of the two classic races for fillies in Ireland and the best juvenile of her year. In the stud both mares produced good winners; Sweet Wall bred twelve foals, seven of which were winners, including Solerina. Dark Eyes died young, at age 12.
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Notable Descendants
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| Solerina
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Solerina br. f. 1932
(Soldennis - Sweet Wall by Cygnus)
Fast sprinting filly, she was bred by C.L. Mackean in Ireland, and raced by his wife. She ran once at age two, and age three she won four of her eleven starts, running fourth in the Epsom Oaks and third in the Irish Oaks. At age four she started by running fourth in the Victoria Cup, and then ran second in the Workingham Stakes. At Newmarket First July she was beaten by a short head in a six-furlong handicap, and a few weeks later won the July Handicap by eight lengths. She entered Goodwood's Stewards' Cup carrying an 8 lb. penalty, made all the running and won with ease by three lengths. She went onto win Nottingham's Stewards' Handicap, but did not place in her next outing, Doncaster's Portland Handicap. In her final race of the season, she won Newmarket's Challenge Stakes, conceding from 9 to 13 lb.
In the stud of her breeder, she was bred to top-class stallions: her daughter Safari (by Bahram) won two races at ages 2 and 3, and daughter Fair Ina (by Fair Trial) won six races. Her daughter Hyphenate (by Hyperion), won four races at age three, and in the stud produced New Stakes winner Hydrologist; Asterisk, who was a winner and later dam of Curragh Stakes winner Mirraglo; and Pally Lass, second dam of Sala, a winner of the 1600 meter Premio Royal Mares in Torino, Italy.
Her sire, Soldennis, who did much to perpetuate the family and was for some years in the Mackean stud, was a good weight carrier and versatile winner of 24 of his 51 starts to age six, including the Irish 2,000 Guineas, the Ayr Gold Cup, and the Drogheda Memorial Twice. His half-bred daughter Soloptic (below) was his best runner.
Soloptic ch.f. 1926
(Soldennis - Dark Eyes by Captivation)
Bred in the Mackean stud in Ireland and trained on Maryborough Heath by Colonel Blake, she was the best offspring of her sire, Soldennis, and she was also his best daughter as a producer. Soloptic was rated second in the Free Handicap as a two year old in Ireland. She won her first race, the Paddock Plate at the Curragh, by ten lengths. She didn't win again until the Maher Plate at Phoenix Park in the fall, and followed that a few days later by winning the Railway Stakes at the Currragh, beating Trigo, who was conceding 18 pounds. She then won the National Produce Stakes in a canter. At age three she was the best three-year-old filly in Ireland. She won the Irish One Thousand Guineas by three lengths, and the Irish Oaks by five. Heavily weighted in the Irish Cambridgeshire, she ran fourth, the weight telling in the last furlong. Her son Caerloptic won the Woodcote Stakes as a juvenile, the Royal Hunt Cup, and three other races with total earnings of £5,932, and then was sold to India to run. She produced two other winners in Lopticaster and Solorelle.
Sweet Wall br.f. 1925
(Cygnus - Dark Eyes by Captivation)
A sister to Soloptic, Sweet Wall won thirteen consecutive races in Ireland, including the Irish Cambridgeshire, and placed second in the Irish One Thousand Guineas and third in the Irish Oaks. She was an excellent producer for the Mackean stud in Ireland. In addition to Solerina, she produced Solid Wall, a winner of one race, whose gelded son, Solid Pact (1942) won the 5 furlong Harehill Plate and the National Produce Stakes as a juvenile, and four other races at ages two and three. Another daughter, Fredo, was second dam of Indian Derby winner Canny Scot. A third daughter, Laharna, was the dam of National Produce Stakes winner Invertown. Sweet Wall's son, Hyacinthus, won the Middle Park Stakes, an important juvenile event in England. She also produced five other minor winners.
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mare (blk.f. 188-) by Piersfield
Bribery (bl.c. 1895) by Elector
Ballot (br.f. 1896) by Elector
Sunstroke II (ch.c. 1899) by Massacre
Mutiny (ch.f. 1900) by Massacre
My Lady Molly (ch.f. 1902) by Massacre
| Captivity (ch.f. 1908) by Captivation
| Molly's Birthday (ch.c. 1909) by Captivation
| Paripan (b.f. 1912) by Captivation
Lady Piersfield (b.f. 1904) by Royal Cherry
| Dark Eyes (ch.f. 1914) by Captivation
| | Sweet Wall (br.f. 1925) by Cygnus
| | | Sweet Sol (ch.f. 1930) by Soldennis
| | | Solerina (br.f. 1932) by Soldennis
| | | | Safari (b.f. 1940) by Bahram
| | | | | Florescent (b./br. 1946) by Hyperion
| | | | Hyphenate (blk. f. 1944) by Hyperion
| | | | Hydrologist (b.c. 1951) by Golden Cloud
| | | | Asterisk (ch.f. 1953) by Golden Cloud
| | | | | Mirraglo (ch.c. 1969) by Miraglo
| | | | Pally Lass (ch.f. 1961) by Palestine
| | | | Saifa (ch.f. 1967) by Darius
| | | | Sala (b.f. 1975) by Karabus
| | | Solid Wall (br. f. 1933) by Soldennis
| | | | Solid Pact (ch.c. 1942) by Pactolus
| | | Fredo (br.f. 1934) by Soldennis
| | | | Watch Me (b.f. 1947) by Emir d'Iran
| | | | Canny Scot (b.c. 1954) by Jock Scot
| | | Hyacinthus (ch.c. 1938) by Hyperion
| | | Laharna (blk.f. 1939) by Loaningdale
| | | Invertown (ch.c. 1943) by Owenstown
| | Soloptic (ch.f. 1926) by Soldennis
| | Knight's Eye (ch.f. 1932) by Knight of the Garter
| | Caerleoptic (b.c. 1935) by Caerleon
| Ballywilliam (b.c. 1912) by Captivation
| Duff (gr.f. 1916) by Book
| | Grey Duchess (gr.f. 1925) by Duke of Brandon
| | Roselogher (gr.c. 1927) by Duke of Brandon
| Rory's Glen (b.c. 1918) by Captivation
Cherry Girl (br.f. 1905) by Royal Cherry
Starshine (b.f. 1906) by Enthusiast
Moonflower (f. 1907) by Captivation
Hugh O' Neill (ch.c. 1917) by Huon II
Irish Eyes II (br.f. 1918) by Irishman
Peggy O'Neill (ch.f. 1919) by Irishman
Nightshade (br.f. 1921) by Frontino
Magic Moon (ch.c. 1923) by Southannan
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