Trainer Paulo Lobo has several reasons to believe Saturday’s Grade 3, $200,000 Greenwood Cup at Parx Racing is a good spot for the Brazilian-bred No Bien Ni Mal to make his North American stakes debut. “This horse seems to me like he would love the distance,” Lobo said, referring to the 1 1/2 miles of the Greenwood Cup. “Having raced in Brazil, he’s custom made for this kind of sandy track.” A third reason is that Lobo was really impressed by No Bien Ni Mal’s first-level allowance win going 1 1/8 miles at Saratoga in his North American debut, which came off a seven-month layoff. In that race, No Bien Ni Mal had a bit of a wide trip and outfought Hop Sing to win by a head. It was 7 3/4 lengths back to the rest of the field. No Bien Ni Mal earned a 97 Beyer Speed Figure. “I think that was a good race in Saratoga for his first time here, and it came back with good numbers,” Lobo said. “If you add everything up, we are going to try and see how he does in this race on Saturday.” :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. No Bien Ni Mal is by Hofburg, a horse campaigned by Bill Mott who finished third in the 2018 Belmont Stakes and fourth in that year’s Pennsylvania Derby. No Bien Ni Mal crossed the wire first by 8 1/4 lengths in a Group 3 stakes going 1 1/4 miles in Brazil last December, though he was disqualified and placed last. Joel Rosario will ride No Bien Ni Mal from post 4. While No Bien Ni Mal will be stretching out three furlongs, Digital Ops will be cutting back two furlongs for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. Digital Ops, a 4-year-old son of Nyquist, is coming off a second-place finish behind Parchment Party in the 1 3/4-mile Birdstone Stakes on Aug. 6 at Saratoga. “I thought he ran well. I thought he handled [the distance] good. The winner was a better horse on the day,” Joseph said. “Cutting him back two more furlongs should only help.” Irad Ortiz Jr. rides the expected pacesetting Digital Ops from the rail in the seven-horse field. Calibrate, a 7-year-old gelding by Distorted Humor, finished sixth in the 2023 Greenwood Cup. Earlier that year, he won the Temperence Hill going 1 1/2 miles at Oaklawn and was second to the marathon monster Next in the Grade 2 Brooklyn at Belmont Park. Repo Rocks had been mostly a one-turn horse in his 53-race career before he won the Edward P. Evans going 1 1/16 miles at Colonial Downs in July. This will be the furthest he’s ever run. My Imagination, beaten 25 lengths when second in the 2023 Greenwood Cup, Double Your Money, and Praetorian Guard complete the field. Parx Dirt Mile Jeff Runco won’t use a 202-day layoff as an excuse if Coastal Mission doesn’t achieve a repeat victory in Saturday’s $300,000 Parx Dirt Mile. “He’s trained pretty hard. I’ve been putting it to him – a lot of good, long workouts,” Runco said. “I expect him to run well.” :: Get the Inside Track with the FREE DRF Morning Line Email Newsletter. Subscribe now.  Coastal Mission certainly ran well in last year’s Parx Dirt Mile, winning by a half-length as the favorite. He followed that with a Grade 3 victory in the Forty Niner Sakes at Aqueduct. A long campaign began to take its toll when he finished fourth in the Cigar Mile, his ninth race – all stakes – of 2024. During the winter, Costal Mission finished fourth in the Toboggan and third in the Stymie, both at Aqueduct, before being given a break. Over the last three years, Runco is 6 for 14 (43 percent) with a $4.84 return on investment bringing horses back off a layoff of between 180 and 240 days, according to DRF Formulator. Regular rider Armando Bocachica rides Coastal Mission from post 8. The 7-year-old Far Mo Power won the 2022 Parx Dirt Mile, one of 10 career wins he has recorded at Parx. Trainer Lou Linder had him cross-entered in Friday’s $100,000 Storm Cat for Pennsylvania-breds but opted for this spot instead. “We’re as good as we’ve ever been for a 7-year-old and we’re going to be a formidable opponent,” said Linder, who trains Far Mo Power for Joseph Sutton. “But we’re just trying to pick the best spot we think he can win.” Nelson Avenue won the Blitzen Stakes by 11 1/4 lengths in the slop to end his 2024 campaign. He is looking for his first victory since then, though he did finish second behind Bishops Bay in the Salvator Mile at Monmouth Park. Dilger, who is only 2 for 14, will try two turns on dirt for just the third time in his career. He was third in the Grade 3 Lexington Stakes in 2024. Earlier this year, he finished third in the Grade 2 Carter going seven furlongs at Aqueduct. “Two turns is a question mark,” trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. said. “His fastest race is good enough. It’s just if he can duplicate his form at two turns.” – additional reporting by Patrick Moquin :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.