A valuable Italian racehorse stolen in March has been recovered, police said Thursday
The horse, named Iglesias, a five-year-old harness racer worth some two million euros, was found tied to the gate of a farm near Naples.
It had disappeared on the night of March 25-26 from an animal clinic in another part of Campania.
The thoroughbred, which has won races worth some 250,000 euros, has already been returned to its owner in the central region of Umbria, police said.
Thousands of animals are rustled in Italy each year, mostly by the Mafia.
In a recent case, four horses were stolen from a stud farm near Rimini - the second time in three years the farm had been targeted.
The thoroughbreds, worth some 30,000 euros a head, are believed to have been taken to the Mafia's illegal racing circuit in Sicily where horses are often drugged and maltreated.
Studs in Emilia Romagna suffered other two major horse thefts last year.
On June 17 a champion ex-harness racer, Daguet Rapide, disappeared from a stud near Imola.
On August 18 a current top harness racer, Forever Runner, went missing from a race track in Cesena.
Illegal horse racing takes place on public racecourses after hours and attracts hundreds of gamblers across southern Italy.
Stolen horses are often used. Some are fed powdered Viagra or other stimulants to improve their performances.
In recent years police have recovered dozens of animals and closed down several unauthorized tracks.
About 100,000 farm animals are stolen in Italy each year, farming association Coldiretti said recently.
Aside from the racehorses, many of the animals are destined for Mob-run backstreet slaughter houses, the organisation said.
''Rustling or reiving, a crime people might think belonged to Italy's rural past, has experienced a shocking resurgence,'' Coldiretti said.
It said clandestine slaughtering posed ''evident'' health risks because of the unsanitary conditions in which it takes place.
Italian Anti-Mafia authorities say Italy's various organised crime groups make some 7.5 billion euros a year from preying on farms.
