Six months ago Geegees Blackflash was fighting for his life after being diagnosed with a cyst the size of a basketball that was growing in his gut.
High profile interstate equine surgeons, Alistair McLean and Irish-born Tom Russell, were called in to perform the life-saving operations and while successful, it took every ounce of the nine-year-old’s courage to survive the ordeal.
The surgeons who performed the operations suggested the abscess may have been there in a small form when he was only a juvenile.
When Geegees Blackflash was diagnosed with the problem he had earned $1.35 million from 66 starts without having left Tasmania.
The gelding’s owners Paul and Elizabeth Geard have established a racing empire with over 150 horses on the books, comprising racehorses, broodmares, foals and two well-performed stallions and all built on the success of Geegees Blackflash.
The Flash is now in the care of Leon who says Geegees Blackflash is pain free and is strolling around the stables like a two-year-old.
“I don’t know what this horse was like when he was a two and three-year-old but I know for sure that he is as free as a bird in his action and is as enthusiastic as ever,” Wells said.
“On the training track he is already trying to get serious and we have to keep a real close watch on him to make sure he takes things slowly.
“But he is such a genuine racehorse that he wants to do more because he feels so good.”
Paul Geard was initially apprehensive about sending the horse back to the Brighton stables but the horse has spent most of his life as a racehorse and he could see the horse was wanting to get back to work.
“I drove past his paddock every morning and he would be running around kicking his heels up and I knew he was feeling pretty good,” Geard said.
“He has always loved being a racehorse so we thought we’d send him back into training for about six to eight weeks and then bring him back to the farm for a break.
“The horse has been such an enormous part of our racing lives and the last thing we want is to do anything that would be detrimental to his welfare.
“The plan is to take him back to the farm in a couple of weeks for a break then send him back for another six weeks at the stables and make a decision after that as to whether we might race him again.
“In the end we will be guided by Leon (Wells) as far as racing again is concerned,” he said.