He was from the eighth crop of foals sired by Daiwa Major, an outstanding miler whose wins included the Tenno Sho, Mile Championship and Yasuda Kinen.

As a breeding stallion he has also sired Major Emblem, Curren Black Hill (NHK Mile Cup), Reine Minoru (Oka Sho) and Epice Arome (Centaur Stakes).

[8] On 16 December the colt was moved up in class again and started 3.6/1 second favourite behind the filly Gran Alegria for the Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes at Hanshin Racecourse.

[13] The 24th running of the Grade 1 NHK Mile Cup at Tokyo on 5 May saw Admire Mars dropped back in distance and start second favourite behind Gran Alegria, who was attempting to follow up her victory in the Oka Sho.

The other sixteen runners included his old rivals Fantasist, Kurino Gaudi and Cadence Call as well as Danon Chaser (Kisaragi Sho), Wide Pharaoh (New Zealand Trophy), Pourville (Fillies' Revue), Iberis (Arlington Cup), Happy Hour (Falcon Stakes) and Val d'Isere (Shinzan Kinen).

After turning into the straight he launched a sustained run down the centre of the track, took the lead 100 metres from the finish and won by half a length and a nose from Cadence Call and Catedral.

[15] On 19 October Admire Mars returned from a long summer break to contest the Grade 3 Fuji Stakes over 1600 metres at Tokyo in which he was matched against older horses.

For his final run of the year the colt was one of four Japanese horses sent to Sha Tin Racecourse to contest the Hong Kong Mile on 8 December when he was ridden by Christophe Soumillon and started a 26/1 outsider.

After racing in mid-division Admire Mars began to make progress in last quarter mile, overtook Beauty Generation 150 metres from the finish, and repelled the late challenge of Waikuku to win by half a length.

[17] In January 2020, at the JRA Awards for 2019, Admire Mars finished runner-up to Saturnalia in the poll to determine the Best Three-Year-Old Colt, receiving 107 votes to his rival's 124.

He also finished second to Indy Champ in the voting for the JRA Award for Best Sprinter or Miler[18] In the early spring of 2020 Admire Mars was sent to the United Arab Emirates with the intention of contesting the Dubai Turf on 28 March but returned to Japan when the race was abandoned owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.