It was decided that an operation would be performed in a building in Ian Balding's yard. Over a span of six hours, a simplified stainless-steel compression plate held by 3 screws was used to pin the broken pieces to the cannon bone. The injuries on the sesamoid bone or the rim of the pastern were avoided. The operation was successful. Professor Edwin James Roberts performed the operation, and Mill Reef's life was saved. His stable lad, John Hallum, played a major role in nursing him for three months. After the painstaking operation, Mill Reef's racing career was over and he became a stallion at The National Stud in Newmarket.