HB's Commander

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Inducted into the greyhound hall of fame in 1999, HB's Commander out of Akbar and Princess Donna, was one of 10 puppies whelped on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14, 1987. He was owned by Henry B. Cook of West Memphis, Ar. He began his racing career at Southland Greyhound Park and soon was considered one of the fastest Greyhounds ever to break in at the time. HB's Commander's racing career ended when he tore his Achilles tendon at age 28 months. After two operations, it was decided to retire HB's Commander to stud. HB's Commander quickly rose to become the number four stud in 1993 and then stood in the number one spot in the country for four straight years, 1994 to 1997.

Of his offspring, two were named All-America in 1995--Twilite Demand as captain and Flying Neptune. Blazing Lady was named to the 1996 All-America Team. Twilite Demand's record includes victories at the Biscayne Spring Inaugural, the Seabrook Great Race, the Palm Beach St. Patrick's Day Challenge, the Hollywood Invitational and the Palm Beach Silver Bullet. He was second in the Grady Sprint at Wonderland, the Hollywood World Classic and the Biscayne Irish-American and was a finalist in the Colorado Classic at Mile High. In 1995, Flying Neptune won the Kansas Bred Holiday Stake and the Kansas Bred Juvenile at The Woodlands, and the Great Kansas Shootout at Wichita Greyhound Park. He was second in the Independence Day Countdown at Wichita. The next year he won the Kansas Bred Sprint at The Woodlands. Blazing Lady, in 1996, won the Carney Memorial Triathon and the Fall Classic at Raynham Taunton and the New Hampshire Lottery Stake at Hinsdale.

Littermates included Blazing Intrigue, Pioneer Pride and Blazing Desire. Other outstanding racing Greyhounds from HB's Commander's line were Molotov, who won the Mile High Great Expectations Stake in 1996 and set the 5/16 track record at 30.19; Epic Prince, who won the St. Petersburg Sprint Classic and set the 5/16 track record at 30.30 in 1994; Awesome Memory, who set the St. Petersburg 3/8 record at 37.08 in 1995;Oswald Cobblepot, Galilee, Dixie Zee and Evening Memory. HB's Commander's sons have established themselves in the sire standings of today. Molotov is second, Evening Memory ranked fifth and Oswald Cobblepot is ninth in the standings through the first half of 1999.

HB's Commander died from a ruptured blood vessel a few days before his eighth birthday.