LEXINGTON, Ky. -- A colt by Curlin sold for $4.1 million, one of two seven-figure lots for the stallion on Tuesday and the top price at the Keeneland September yearling sale in nearly a decade, as the early days of the bellwether auction continued with strong figures. Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum's international Godolphin operation went to $4.1 million for the Curlin colt and $2.9 million for a War Front colt on Tuesday to lead trade, after earlier going beyond $2 million for the top two lots of Monday's opening session. With those two leading the way, Tuesday's session, the second of three in the elite Book 1 portion, closed with 109 yearlings sold for gross receipts of $49,150,000. “Didn't we all enjoy the fireworks?” Bob Elliston, Keeneland’s vice president of racing and sales, said. “What an incredible day.” This year, Keeneland has again tweaked the format of its top-market portions in Books 1 and 2. Book 1 now encompasses the auction’s first three days – compared to four sessions last year – with a total of 569 hips cataloged, compared to four sessions with 989 cataloged in 2018. The size of the Book 2 catalog is 730 horses compared to 826 last year. Because of the changes, year-to-year session-to-session comparisons for some figures, notably gross receipts, will not be applicable. However, Tuesday's average sale price, a powerhouse figure of $450,917, compared very favorably to similar segments of the market last year. The 2018 second-session average was $391,875, while last year's cumulative Book 1 average was $363,780. Tuesday's median price was $375,000, compared to $300,000 in the 2018 Book 2 second session, with the Book 1 final figure also finishing at $300,000. "The median jumped $50,000 from yesterday -- that's just staggering," Elliston said. "So it wasn't just [the top two horses] -- there was depth way in there, because that median jumping like that shows it wasn't just two horses that caused the numbers to jump. Incredible trade. Through the course of the day, a lot of people were struggling to get horses bought -- a lot of people we see every day on those sale sheets and those summaries. I talked to one who's a consistently top-five buyer of ours. He's gotten two so far. He's been underbidder on, I think, 10." Indeed, the upper market has continued to be extremely competitive, with four horses sold for prices in excess of $2 million thus far, compared to three for the entire sale last year. Twelve horses have sold for seven figures through two sessions, relatively on pace with the 13 through two sessions last year. The middle and lower rungs of the buying bench have also continued to be competitive at other price points. The cumulative buyback rate at this point sits at 30 percent, relatively steady in this selective market compared to 28 percent through the first two sessions in 2018. The 2018 figure was helped along by an unusually low 21 percent buyback rate for the second session.  The sale-leading colt was consigned by Eaton Sales, as agent for breeder Stonestreet Farm, which co-campaigned two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, maintains an interest in his stud career, and bred and raised both of his high-ticket lots on Tuesday. The colt's price tag made him the most expensive horse sold at Keeneland September since Mr. Besilu topped the 2010 edition of the sale at $4.2 million, continuing a monster year in the commercial arena for Curlin. The Hill 'n' Dale Farm stallion was represented by the most expensive 2-year-old sold in North America this year, a $3.65-million colt who topped the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale. Proceeding into the yearling market, he then sired three seven-figure colts in a single night at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga selected yearling sale, with a pair tying for the top price at $1.5 million before coming to Keeneland September with a strong draft. Stonestreet owner Barbara Banke said that her major goal is for Curlin to achieve international success as a sire. To that end, Stonestreet, which has made forays into Australian and New Zealand racing under Banke's leadership, purchased the New Zealand champion sprinter Bounding for about $1.3 million, in U.S. funds, out of the 2016 Magic Millions national broodmare sale, and brought her to the U.S. to be paired with Curlin for her first foal. "She was tough as nails," Banke said of Bounding. "She tore down the barn door when she came out. She's just gorgeous, [and] it's a great family. "I've always been trying to raise an internationally acclaimed Curlin," Banke continued. "It's one of my goals in life. This horse has every license to do that. I think that Curlin really deserves to be recognized in Europe as well as here." Godolphin maintains powerful racing stables in both the U.S. and Europe, has made forays into other jurisdictions, including Australia, and has Northern Hemisphere stallion operations in Kentucky, Europe, and Japan, as well as shuttling stallions for the Southern Hemisphere season. Bloodstock agent Anthony Stroud, who signed the ticket on the Curlin colt, said Sheikh Mohammed will make decisions following this sale as to which of his new purchases would be ticketed for which arm of the international operation. "He was a well-balanced horse, from a good farm, and [Sheikh Mohammed] liked him very much," Stroud said of Bounding's colt after outbidding representatives from another international outfit, the Coolmore group. Bounding, by leading sire Lonhro, was New Zealand's champion sprinter of 2014, when she won the Group 1 Railway Stakes and Group 3 Mr Tiz Trophy. Those were among her five career group stakes victories; she placed in seven additional group stakes, including runner-up efforts in the Group 1 New Zealand 1000 Guineas and Group 1 Diamond Stakes, both in 2013. The mare is out of the Group 3-winning Exceed And Excel mare Believe 'N' Succeed, making her a half-sister to this year's Epsom Derby winner and Irish Derby runner-up Anthony Van Dyck. Bounding's third dam is Grade 1 Alabama and Test Stakes winner November Snow, the pivot point for runners including Grade 1 winner Morning Line. Late in the session, a Curlin filly out of the Grade 1-winning A.P. Indy mare Dreaming of Julia sold for $1.05 million to another international outfit, Shadwell Stud. She was consigned by Denali Stud as agent for Stonestreet, which distributes its yearlings among a variety of consignors. Dreaming of Julia, who raced as a homebred for Stonestreet, won the Grade 1 Frizette Stakes as a juvenile and took the Grade 2 Gulfstream Oaks by 21 3/4 lengths the following spring. She is out of the multiple Grade 1 winner Dream Rush, dam of Grade 3 winner Dream Pauline, stakes winner Atreides, and stakes-placed Perchance. Godolphin bid up to $2.9 million to acquire a War Front colt out of another outstanding racemare, Kentucky Oaks winner Believe You Can. "They pushed us all the way," Stroud said, making comments similar to those he would make less than 40 minutes later regarding the market after signing for Bounding's colt. "I don't know who the underbidder was, but it was a lot of money. Hopefully, it will prove well worth it, but it was more than we anticipated, yes." The colt was consigned by the Airdrie Stud of former Kentucky governor Brereton C. Jones, who raced Believe You Can as a homebred. The Proud Citizen mare won 8 of her 14 career starts, highlighted by the 2012 Kentucky Oaks. She also won the Grade 3 Tempted Stakes as a juvenile; the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks and the Silverbulletday Stakes prior to the Oaks; and the Tiffany Lass Stakes and New Orleans Ladies as a 4-year-old, retiring with more than $1.2 million in earnings. Believe You Can's first two foals, both by Tapit, sold for $900,000 and $1 million, respectively, at this sale in 2016 and 2017. The first of those, Believe In Royalty, won last year's Ellis Park Derby and was second by a nose to Lone Sailor in the Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby. Airdrie's Bret Jones said that, while the colt's pedigree and physical appearance made him a standout, the way the youngster took the busy sale atmosphere in stride helped make the difference. "We brought him up here thinking we had a chance to have a really special Tuesday, and we were fortunate everything worked out," Bret Jones said. "So thankful that the horse handled everything as well as he did, because you never know how they're going to handle it. You can have all the class in the universe back at the farm, but this horse handled it like a really special horse. He showed himself as well as one could." War Front was responsible for one of the day's other seven-figure lots, as Shadwell went to an even $1 million for a filly from the consignment of Gainesway, as agent. The filly is the first foal out of the Grade 3-winning Tapit mare Delightful Joy, a half-sister to Grade 3 winner Cali Star and stakes winner Seymourdini. Early in the session, Godolphin had picked up another high-ticket yearling, a $1 million filly by Union Rags. She is out of the Bernardini mare Zayanna, dam of Grade 2 winner Point of Honor, stakes winner Velvet Mood, and stakes-placed Admiral Jimmy. The filly was consigned by Taylor Made Sales as agent for Siena Farm. Keeneland September continues with the final Book 1 session on Wednesday afternoon, and is expected to close this portion of the sale in strong fashion, with 13 yearlings by Curlin, eight by War Front, and six by perennial commercial juggernaut Tapit still on offer following early outs. Also cataloged is a yearling on every short list -- a filly by Triple Crown winner and leading freshman sire American Pharoah, who is a half sister to four-time Eclipse Award champion Beholder, Grade 1 winner and leading sire Into Mischief, and Grade 1 winner and Keeneland September sale-topper Mendelssohn. Because yearling sale catalogs are arranged alphabetically by broodmare names, beginning on a random letter, the filly happened to land on the final day of Book 1, building the anticipation. "The Ls come up tomorrow," Elliston said with a grin. "I saw her this morning. ... I know this is the last one coming to market [out of Leslie's Lady]. This is the last chance. I've got goosebumps talking about it right now." For hip-by-hip results for the sale thus far, click here.