A failed Australian racehorse that almost died in a barn fire after narrowly avoiding slaughter is now an Olympic Games contender.

Neville Bardos, named after Mark 'Chopper' Read associate Neville Bartos, was born in the New South Wales Hunter Valley.

But like many failed racehorses, it was headed for slaughter until being bought in 2002 by Australian-born US equestrian Boyd Martin.

The horse then cheated death a second time when it was badly hurt in a barn fire which ripped through its Pennsylvania stables.

But Neville Bardos is now a star in the discipline of three-day eventing - involving dressage, cross country and show jumping - and could be heading to London for this year's Olympic Games.

Adding another twist to the story, Martin has now struck a deal to sell the movie rights to Neville's story.

Martin says he will never forget the sickening gurgling sound coming from Neville Bardos's stall as he raced into the burning barn during the fire last year.

"I just put my shirt over my head and just held my breath as best as I could and it was sort of one of those things where you just sort of react and go on instinct a bit," he said.

His instinct paid off and he finally reached the 12-year-old gelding.

As luck would have it, the horse was wearing a collar to curb a bad habit known as wind sucking, enabling Martin to grab him and pull him to safety.

"I put my hands on his shoulders and ran my hand up his neck and grabbed hold of a wind sucking collar and right then I knew it was Neville and I sort of dragged him down the aisle way," he said.

"You just felt a bit helpless, the whole building was ablaze.

Neville's throat was scorched to such a degree that many thought the horse would not survive.

But Neville stunned vets with its recovery after oxygen was pumped into its lungs in a hyperbaric chamber, and it was back competing at an elite level several months later.

"I think Neville is definitely a very tough horse that could come back from a horrific tragedy like that," Martin said.

"The vets said he was in quite bad shape with the smoke inhalation and stuff and we both got together and pushed through."

Martin says it has been a phenomenal rise for the horse.

"You know, I always have a chuckle to myself, because he was a ratbag of a young horse and now he's got people taking pictures of him and movie cameras [interested]," he said.

"And I think to myself, 'You lucky bugger - how did you pull this off?'".

'Never say die'

Former Australian Olympic equestrian Heath Ryan was with Martin in 2002 when he bought the failed racehorse.

Ryan did not think much of Neville then, but does now.

"The horse has been a freak of nature. Neville Bardos is classic Australian thoroughbred in that he never says die," he said.

"Now the pair of them together, cross country, you've never seen anything like it.

"That's two wild boys and they go like lightning."

Another equestrian, Gordon Bishop, who had first dibs on buying Neville, is also full of praise.

"I think Neville really just touched something inside Boyd which has let Boyd produce this horse through the highs and lows," he said.

