ALAN KING believes Voy Por Ustedes is ‘every bit as good as last year’ as he bids to land back-to-back victories in the John Smith’s Melling Chase at Aintree this afternoon.

The eight-year-old landed the 2m4f Grade One contest by 18 lengths from the highest rated chaser in training, Master Minded.

He had been beaten by Paul Nicholls’ star in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham a month earlier, but reversed the form in emphatic fashion over the extra four-furlong trip last April.

Now he comes into the feature race of Aintree’s Ladies Day after a similar defeat in the Ryanair Chase at Prestbury Park last month.

This time his Prestbury Park conqueror, Imperial Commander, will not be in opposition.

But Voy Por Ustedes’ Barbury Castle trainer expects the Sir Robert Ogden-owned gelding to go close to adding his name to the list of dual Melling Chase winners which includes big names like Viking Flagship, Direct Route, Native Upmanship and Moscow Flyer.

King landed the Matalan 4-Y-O Anniversary Novices’ Hurdle when the well-backed 2-1 favourite Walkon scored by an impressive 13 lengths on the opening day of the meeting yesterday.

The four-year-old gained compensation for his narrow defeat by Zaynar in the JCB Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham last month.

King is hoping Voy Por Ustedes can do something similar this afternoon.

He said yesterday: “He is every bit as good this year as he was last year. Obviously we didn’t manage to win at Cheltenham. He made a bad mistake at the top of the hill. If he hadn’t made that mistake he would have won. But he has come out of the race very well and I am very happy with his work. He had a school on Monday and again on Wednesday and both went well.

“The good ground will suit, the track will suit and I would be very disappointed if he didn’t run a huge race, it’s as simple as that.”