Bunyan has speed test for Hit The Bid Hit The Bid could tackle sprint star Marsha in the Sapphire Stakes at the Curragh on July 15. Sir Mark Prescott is considering the Group Two heat for his Prix de l'Abbaye winner and Darren Bunyan would be eager for the challenge with Hit The Bid. The three-year-old finished a neck second under top weight in the Rockingham Handicap at the Curragh on Sunday. And while he is entered in the Coral Charge at Sandown, Bunyan said: "He won't be running on Saturday. "He's only a three-year-old and I don't want to overdo him. "We'll be keeping an eye on the weather here in Ireland and we might have a look at the Sapphire Stakes with him. "There's very little between all these sprinters and it sometimes depends on who gets the luck on the day." Bunyan felt fortune had deserted his charge in the Rockingham, with winner Tithonus, who was getting a stone, racing from a low draw while Hit The Bid was on the other side of the track. The Curragh handler said: "I think he was one of the hard-luck stories of last weekend, really. "It looked before the race like all the speed was going to be on our side, then it worked out on the day that there was no speed on our side - it was all over the far side. "He really wasn't beaten far and it just shows you how good he is. I don't think a three-year-old has won the Rockingham under top weight and he came very close. "We've always thought he was a very good horse and to do that at three, it just shows you what he could be for next year, too."
