2019: three-year-old season
Admire Mars began his second season on 10 February when he contested the Tokinominoru Kinen (a trial race for the Satsuki Sho) over 1800 metres at Tokyo Racecourse. He started the 0.7/1 favourite in a seven-runner field but sustained his first defeat as he was beaten one and a quarter lengths into second place by Yamanin Kingly. On 14 April at Nakayama Racecourse Admire Mars was made second favourite behind Saturnalia for the Satsuki Sho over 2000 metres. After tracking the leaders he was switched to the outside to make his challenge in the straight but despite making some progress he never looked likely to win and came home fourth behind Saturnalia, Velox and Yamanin Kingly beaten just over two lengths by the winner.
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). Admire Mars did not start well and was forced to race on the outside in mid-division as Iberis set the pace from Kurino Gaudi and Pourville. 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. After the race Demuro said "his start wasn't so good and we had to race in a lower position than hoped, but he just hates to lose - once another runner came up next to him, he found his second wind. He's truly an amazing miler".
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. He was made the 1.1/1 favourite but was never in serious contention and came home ninth of the eighteen runners as victory went to the four-year-old filly Normcore. Riichi Kondo died in November 2019 and the ownership of the horse passed to the executors of his estate. 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. Beauty Generation and Indy Champ started joint favourites while the other seven runners included Normcore, Persian Knight (Mile Championship) and Waikuku (Jockey Club Mile). 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. After the race Soumillon said "I knew my horse was very strong... he was the best two-year-old in Japan last year and probably the best three-year-old in Japan this year as well... I told the lad before the race when I saw the odds on the screen that there was something wrong there – I thought he should have been in the first four favourites... But I rode my race like he was the favourite and it paid off".
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
