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Well named filly Ragazze, Italian for girls, gave her female syndicate of owners a huge thrill when she made a winning debut for Hawkesbury trainer Brad Widdup at Kembla Grange on Saturday.

Widdup was both delighted and relieved that the filly had made the best possible start to her racetrack career for a number of reasons.

Not only did Ragazze fetch $200,000 at the Magic Millions yearling sales at the Gold Coast in January last year, but his wife Milissa is a member of the syndicate.

It was the first time he has won a race using the colours of his major owner Damion Flower’s wife Camilla.

“I’ve started only a couple of horses in Camilla’s colors, and it was nice to break the ice,” Widdup said.

“I was confident Ragazze would run well, and she didn’t let us down. It was a really good effort, and she has pulled up well.”

Ragazze (Koby Jennings) was impressive in racing clear to easily beat Loved One and Galina in the 1200m maiden for fillies and mares.

Damion Flower purchased Ragazze (Snitzel x Pravana) at last year’s Magic Millions sales under the Millsy (his wife’s nickname) Girls Racing banner.

Joining both Camilla Flower and Miilissa Widdup in the syndicate are trainer Mel O’Gorman, Gail Rocks, Filomena Cipriani and Sonja Forte.

“Filomena and Sonja are friends of Milissa and also first-time owners. They were at the track and were very excited to see Ragazze win,” Widdup said.

“Mel O’Gorman broke the filly in. She always does a good job with the horses she breaks in for us.”

Widdup said he hadn’t rushed Ragazze because of immaturity and didn’t race her as a two-year-old.

“We took our time with her and since coming into work this time she has done everything right.

“She is a lovely filly to handle.”

Ironically the runner-up on Saturday Loved One is trained by John O’Shea, who prepared Ragazze’s dam Pravana.

She began her career in Queensland before joining O’Shea’s Sydney stable. He won two races with her including a Listed uccess at Randwick and she was also placed at Group 3 level before being retired to stud.

Pravana’s dam Pravda gained notoriety for the wrong reason when she “jacked up” after leaving the enclosure and refused to proceed to the barrier for the 2000 Melbourne Cup won by Brew at Flemington.

Pravda (Zabeel x Foreign Copy) is also a full sister to Milliyet, the dam of Kris Lees’ outstanding G1 winner Samantha Miss, the dam of recent G2 winner Miss Fabulass.

Ragazze was Widdup’s 10th winner for the season.

• Hawkesbury trainers Garry White and Karen Outtrim were in the winning list at Bathurst last Friday and at Mudgee on Saturday.

White made it two wins in as many days when Russian Express won the Maiden Plate (1400m) first-up at Bathurst against her own sex.

He had scored a home track win at Hawkesbury a day earlier with Dunatun. Their victories took his tally to six wins in the first three months of the new season.

A five-year-old mare by Dylan Thomas, Russian Express was having only her second start – and her first for White.

She was ridden by experienced jockey Adrian Robinson who was making an excellent start to his latest comeback to riding. He also scored at the non-TAB meeting at Mudgee on Saturday aboard Malibu Stacy, prepared at Dubbo by former Hawkesbury-based Connie Greig.

Outtrim won her second race this season when Anne’s Gift ridden by Jake Pracey-Holmes, won a C1 over 1200m at Mudgee at her first start since April.