Frustrated in his quest for the early lead, King Alphonso finally seized control at the three-eighths and rolled home from there in Wednesday’s $16,000 Open Trot at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows.

King Alphonso fired out for the point from post four only to encounter resistance from Icanflylikeanangel, who forced King Alphonso to retreat to the pocket. But it wasn’t long before Jim Pantaleano had the four-year-old son of Muscle Hill-Amour Heiress on the decisive move to the front, where he easily thwarted the first-over bid of Joey and triumphed in 1:53.2. Just Like Magic finished second, 1-3/4 lengths back, with Keystone Chaos third.

Christen Pantaleano trains King Alphonso, who lifted his career bankroll to $336,206, for Matthew Morrison.

Dave Palone piloted three winners on the 13-race card.

After a Thanksgiving break, live racing at The Meadows resumes Friday when the 13-race program features a $2,210.97 carryover in the final-race Super Hi-5. First post is 12:45 p.m.

(MSOA)