Arinthod Provides a Transatlantic Link : Trainers: Colt was prepared in France by the ailing Boutin and will be sent off today by McAnally, his close friend.

At first glance they appear to be worlds apart, these two horsemen, separated by language and thousands of miles.

One is a courtly, cigar-puffing Frenchman whose regal bearing is often taken for arrogance. His pristine Chantilly stable is replete with impeccably bred runners, and he can claim several sheiks and some captains of industry among his clients.

The other is a soft-spoken, unassuming man whose down-home list of clients includes a doughnut tycoon and a weight-loss entrepreneur. His current stars? A hamstrung horse without a tail and an Argentine-bred mare whose long floppy ears rival Bugs Bunny’s.

But when California trainer Ron McAnally cinches the girth today on Arinthod for the 125th Belmont Stakes, he will be thinking about his good friend across the Atlantic, and of an unlikely kinship struck 25 years ago.

If Arinthod wins the Belmont, it will mark not only the first victory in a Triple Crown race for three-time Eclipse Award winner McAnally, but the first, and perhaps the last, for leading French trainer Francois Boutin, who is best known as the trainer of Arazi, the superhorse turned superbust. Boutin has liver cancer, and is undergoing chemotherapy treatment in France.

In April, McAnally bought Arinthod, a French-bred colt, for owners Sid and Jenny Craig, who also own the Argentine mare Paseana. But Arinthod will run Saturday in the name and colors of Boutin, who conditioned the horse in France.

A victory by Arinthod would be the culmination of their friendship. McAnally and Boutin met in 1968, while McAnally and his wife were vacationing in France. McAnally had long been an admirer of Boutin and decided to visit the Frenchman’s operation in Chantilly.

“The first thing I remember about Francois was his warm smile,” McAnally said the other day. “At the time, he spoke almost no English, but it was just one of those things where two people hit it off right away. From the moment we shook hands, I knew we were going to be good friends.”

The trainers shared more than a love for horses. Both were born into near poverty were orphaned as small children. McAnally grew up in a Kentucky orphanage with his two brothers and two sisters, but left at 16 to work at the racetrack. As McAnally worked his way through the racing ranks, he adopted his younger siblings from the orphanage.

“There was never a question that they would be with me,” McAnally said. “Being orphaned so young, as we were, we really only had one another. I don’t have any regrets, other than losing our mother and father. The folks at the orphanage raised us to respect people and be kind to others.”

McAnally’s feeling for people was brought out on national television before millions of horrified viewers on Oct. 27, 1990. McAnally’s mare, Bayakoa, had hooked up with the champion filly, Go For Wand, in a stretch duel during the Breeder’s Cup Distaff, a battle that ended with the breakdown and subsequent death of Go For Wand and a hollow victory for McAnally and Bayakoa.

Moments after the race, McAnally wept unabashedly and said: “I feel so bad for Mrs. Lunger (Go For Wand’s owner). These horses give their lives for our pleasure.”

Debbie McAnally, Ron’s wife, believes that compassion, as well as her husband and Boutin’s similar backgrounds, help explain their longstanding friendship.

“Although there has always been a language barrier, it’s never seemed to bother them,” she said. “They communicate on a level that is deeper than those who speak the same language. I see how Ron communicates with his horses, and they certainly don’t speak English or French. Whenever I see Ron and Francois together, I can’t help but draw that parallel.”

In February, after hearing that Boutin had cancer, McAnally immediately flew to France to be with his friend. He has been back twice to visit Boutin, who rarely attends races these days but tries to get to the track when he can to supervise morning workouts.

“It’s the least I can do, going to visit him when I can make the time,” McAnally said. “I call him every day, just to chat and see how he is doing. He’s feeling a little better these days, and I have to think that Arinthod running in the Belmont might have something to do with it.”

McAnally hopes that Arinthod, who has finished in the money seven times in 10 starts, will duplicate the performance of Go And Go, who was shipped from Ireland and won the 1990 Belmont Stakes by eight lengths. This would be the first classic victory for McAnally, who saddled his first winner in 1954.

Arinthod worked five furlongs Wednesday in 58 2/5, the best workout of the week at Belmont.

“Francois knows that Arinthod will run in his name,” McAnally said, his smile tinged with sadness. “I’m just saddling the horse up for him. I know he’ll be thrilled if the horse wins. It would be a great story.”