Christmas comes on New Year's Day in Tropical Park Oaks

Christmas Kid has won or placed in all three of her turf starts (Jim Lisa Photos)

CHRISTMAS KID (Lemon Drop Kid) gave owner/breeder Edward P. Evans a belated

Christmas present when notching her first stakes victory in Monday's $100,000

Tropical

Park Oaks at Calder. With Kent Desormeaux aboard, the James Jerkens filly

finished 1 1/16 miles on the firm turf in 1:43.

Enjoying a ground-saving trip along the hedge, Christmas Kid stalked the pace

through splits of :23 3/5, :49 and 1:13. Desormeaux switched her to the outside

for a clear run into the stretch, and the newly turned sophomore closed stoutly

to overhaul a stubborn Perfect Motion (Wild Event) by a half-length at the wire.

"She waited perfectly and knew exactly when to make a move in here,"

Desormeaux said. "She showed a lot of guts and class because we got a little

bottled up when I wanted to go, and she just forced her way through."

Christmas Kid was sent off the lukewarm favorite at nearly 3-1, returning

$7.80, $4.40 and $3.80. The exotics were worth $34.40 (exacta), $390.80 (trifecta)

and $3,682.20 (3-10-5-4 superfecta).

Runner-up Perfect Motion emerged with plenty of credit, seizing command in

midstretch only to give way grudgingly late. The nearly 7-2 second choice gave

back $4.20 and $3.40. Another 1 1/4 lengths back in third came Lisa M (Banker's

Gold), who turned in an encouraging turf debut to pay $7.40 at 14-1.

Snow Cone (Cryptoclearance) checked in fourth, followed by Cat Charmer (Storm

Cat); Go Native (Concorde's Tune); pacesetter Changeisgonnacome (Cherokee Run),

who dead-heated for seventh with Silkily (Line in the Sand); In for a Dime

(Include); Secretsoftheheart (Put It Back); Fiestive Event (Wild Event); and

Naseem (Point Given). Maria's Kitty (Maria's Mon) and two of the also-eligibles,

Pecunia (Absent Russian) and Post Invader (Salt Lake), were withdrawn.

The Virginia-bred winner improved her record to 4-2-0-1 with $96,587 in her

account. After finishing fourth in her debut on the main track at Saratoga,

Christmas Kid switched to the lawn. She broke her maiden sprinting six furlongs

on the inner oval at Belmont Park, then stretched out to 1 1/8 miles in the

October 22 Miss Grillo and reported home third.