Topped by winning the trainers’ title at the 2023-24 meet, Kathleen O’Connell has finished in the top three of the Tampa Bay Downs trainer standings each of the last 12 years. Through the first month of the 2024-25 season, O’Connell’s five wins have her second in the standings, one back of the highly active Jon Arnett. Some of O’Connell’s success is due to her bringing a slew of fresh horses to the meet, exhibited by Sir Robert Hall’s victory here Nov. 30 off a 126-day layoff. Sir Robert Hall is one of five horses O’Connell has entered for Wednesday’s nine-race Tampa card, but the horse who may garner the most attention from bettors is Damaso, who returns from a 109-day layoff in the fifth, a starter allowance for horses who started for a claiming price of $25,000 in 2023-24. The 1 1/16-mile race drew a field of 10. “They all benefit from a break,” O’Connell said. “A baseball player doesn’t go all year long, a football player doesn’t go all year long, a horse shouldn’t go all year long.” Damaso, a 4-year-old daughter of Outwork, advanced from the $25,000 claiming ranks here in February to the Violet Stakes at Monmouth Park in August where she finished third, beaten 2 1/2 lengths by the Chad Brown-trained Maman Joon. Damaso set the pace in that race before being corralled inside the sixteenth pole. :: Get the Inside Track with the FREE DRF Morning Line Email Newsletter. Subscribe now.  Damaso won two races at Tampa last winter/spring. O’Connell said she has seen the speedy Damaso relax some in her races, but returning from a lengthy layoff Wednesday, O’Connell isn’t sure how well she’ll show that trait in this race. “I think she’s filled out and is learning to relax, I don’t know how well she’ll relax on Wednesday having not raced in so long,” O’Connell said. “But the owners did allow me to give her a break when I knew she needed one.” Wednesday’s race does seem to have ample front-runners in it, starting with Simply Striking, Katies a Lady, and Beach Ready. Goodbetterbest has shown speed in some of her races, but she did run a good second from off the pace in a first-level allowance last July over Gulfstream Park’s Tapeta track. She has only raced once since, that being a starter-allowance win also over Gulfstream’s Tapeta track in October. This will be her first start on turf since a win for $16,000 on May 10 at Gulfstream. Maria’s Honor has won two of her last three races from off the pace. Postino’s Prophecy is another who figures to be running late. Next Episode won back-to-back allowance/optional-claiming races at Colonial Downs during the summer and was third in the Maryland Millions Ladies Stakes on Oct. 12. She has not raced since a last-place finish in a second-level allowance on Oct. 26 at Aqueduct. ◗ The racing schedule expands to four days a week with the addition of Sundays beginning this weekend. Also, there will be a Tuesday card on Christmas Eve since the track will be closed on Christmas Day. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.