Admire Mars ( ja, アドマイヤマーズ, link=no, foaled 16 March 2016) is a Japanese

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

racehorse. As a juvenile in 2018 he was undefeated in four races including the Daily Hai Nisai Stakes and the

Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes The Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes (朝日杯フューチュリティステークス) is a one mile turf stakes race for thoroughbred colts two years old. It is considered the ''de facto'' year-end championship for Japanese thoroughbred racing in the t ...

and won the

JRA Award for Best Two-Year-Old Colt The JRA Award for Best Two-Year-Old Colt is a title awarded annually by the Japan Racing Association The Japan Racing Association ( ja, 日本中央競馬会 Nippon Chūō Keiba Kai, or JRA) is a public company established to operate Chūō Keiba ( ...

. In his first two races of 2019 he was beaten in the

Tokinominoru Kinen The Tokinominoru Kinen (Japanese 共同通信杯) is a Grade 3 horse race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run in February over a distance of 1800 metres at Tokyo Racecourse. Officially known as the Kyodo News Hai, the race is named in honour of ...

and the

Satsuki Sho Satsuki is a traditional Japanese name for the month of . It is commonly used as a feminine given name and, more rarely, as a surname or a masculine name. Possible spellings Satsuki can be spelled using different ''kanji'' characters and can mean: ...

before returning to winning form to take the

NHK Mile Cup The NHK Mile Cup () is a Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies, run over a distance of 1,600 metres (approximately one mile) on the turf at Tokyo Racecourse in May. The NHK Mile Cup is sponsored b ...

. In December he won the

Hong Kong Mile The Hong Kong Mile is a Group 1 flat horse race in Hong Kong which is open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile) at Sha Tin, and it is scheduled to take place each year in mid December ...

. He failed to win in 2020 but ran third in both the

Mile Championship The Mile Championship is an Graded stakes race, International Grade I Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Japan for three-year-old and above thoroughbreds run over a distance of 1,600 metres (approximately 1 mile) on the turf at Kyoto Ra ...

and the Hong Kong Mile.

Background

Admire Mars is a chestnut horse with a white blaze and a long white sock on his left hind leg bred in

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The lar ...

by Northern Farm. As a yearling in 2017 he was consigned to the Select Sale and was bought for ¥56,160,000 by Riichi Kondo. He was sent into training with Yasuo Tomomichi. He was from the eighth crop of foals sired by

Daiwa Major Daiwa Major ( ja, ダイワメジャー, link=no) is a retired Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and active sire. A horse who excelled at distances of , he won the Satsuki Shō, the first leg of the Japanese Triple Crown in 2004. His greatest succ ...

, an outstanding miler whose wins included the

Tenno Sho The is a horse race held twice a year in Japan, once in the spring and once in the autumn. "Tenno" means "Emperor of Japan". The races are both International Grade I races. Prior to the 2007 races, both Tenno Sho races were Japanese domestic Gra ...

and

Yasuda Kinen The Yasuda Kinen (English: Yasuda Memorial, Japanese and Chinese language: 安田記念) is a Japanese International Grade I Thoroughbred horse race held at the Tokyo Racecourse in Tokyo. Raced annually each June, the Yasuda Kinen is run at a di ...

. As a breeding stallion he has also sired

Major Emblem Major Emblem ( ja, メジャーエンブレム, link=no, foaled 26 March 2013) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse and broodmare. As a juvenile in 2015 she was the best filly of her generation in Japan, winning three of her four races including ...

, Curren Black Hill (NHK Mile Cup), Reine Minoru (Oka Sho) and Epice Arome ( Centaur Stakes). Admire Mars' dam Via Medici showed good racing form in France, winning four races including the

Group 3 Group 3 may refer to: *Group 3 element, chemical element classification *Group 3 (racing), FIA classification for auto racing * Group 3, the third tier of races in worldwide Thoroughbred horse racing * Group 3 image format, Group 3 & Group 4 are ...

Prix de Lieurey The Prix de Lieurey is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at Deauville over a distance of 1,600 metres (about 1 mile), and it is scheduled to take p ...

. She was sold for €480,000 in December 2014 and exported to Japan. Via Medici was a female line descendant of Rossellina, a full-sister to Ribot.

Racing career

2018: two-year-old season

Admire Mars was ridden in all of his 2018 starts by Mirco Demuro. The colt made a successful racecourse debut when he recorded a narrow win over Cadence Call in a contest for previously unraced juveniles over 1600 metres at

Chukyo Racecourse is located in Toyoake, Aichi, Japan. It is used for horse racing. It was built in 1994. It has a capacity of 58,400. It has 8,795 seats. Physical attributes Chukyo Racecourse has a grass courses, a dirt course, and a jump course. The turf's m ...

on 30 June. Three weeks later, over the same course and distance, he followed up with a three length win in the Chukyo Nisai Stakes, beating A Shin Zone and five others. On his return from a break of over four months Admire Mars was stepped up in class for the Grade 2 Daily Hai Nisai Stakes at

Kyoto Racecourse is located in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It is used for horse racing. It has a capacity of 120,000. It was built in 1999. History Kyoto Race Course opened on December 1, 1925. In preparation for the track's 100th anniversary, ...

on 10 November and went off the 4/5. He maintained his unbeaten record as he won by half a length from Meisho Shobu. On 16 December the colt was moved up in class again and started 3.6/1 second favourite behind the filly

Gran Alegria Gran Alegria ( ja, グランアレグリア, link=no, foaled 24 January 2016) is a Japanese Thoroughbred racehorse. After winning a minor race on her debut in 2018 she won the Saudi Arabia Royal Cup before running third in the Asahi Hai Futurity ...

for the Grade 1 Asahi Hai Futurity Stakes at

Hanshin Racecourse is located in Takarazuka, Hyogo, Japan. It has a capacity of 139,000 and it is used for horse racing. The land was originally owned by Kawanishi Aircraft Company, which manufactured combat planes during World War II World War I ...

. The best fancied of the other thirteen runners were Fantasist ( Keio Hai Nisai Stakes), Cadence Call ( Niigata Nisai Stakes), Meiner Surpass, De Gaulle (runner up in the

Saudi Arabia Royal Cup The Saudi Arabia Royal Cup (Japanese サウジアラビアロイヤルカップ) is a Grade 3 horse race for two-year-old Thoroughbreds run in October over a distance of 1600 metres at Tokyo Racecourse. The race was first run as an open class r ...

), Emeral Flight and Aster Pegasus (

Hakodate Nisai Stakes The Hakodate Nisai Stakes (Japanese 函館2歳ステークス) is a Grade 3 horse race for two-year-old Thoroughbreds run in late July over a distance of 1200 metres at Hakodate Racecourse. The race was first run in 1968 and was promoted to Gra ...

). Demuro settled the colt in third place as It's Cool set the pace from Gran Alegria before making a forward move as the field turned into the straight. Admire Mars gained the advantage 300 metres from the finish and drew away in the closing stages to win by two lengths from the outsider Kurino Gaudi with Gran Alegria half a length back in third. Demuro commented "everything went smoothly. He showed a terrific turn of foot. He's a smart colt and hates to lose so I’m looking forward to seeing how he improves next season". In the official ratings for Japanese two-year-olds Admire Mars was rated the best juvenile of the year, one pound ahead of the

Hopeful Stakes The Hopeful Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, New York. Open to two-year-old horses, the Hopeful is the first Grade I stakes for two-year-olds each season and historically has ...

winner Saturnalia. In January 2019 Admire Mars topped the polling for the Best Two-Year-Old Colt at the JRA Awards for 2018, receiving 153 votes against Saturnalia's 123.

2019: three-year-old season

Admire Mars began his second season on 10 February when he contested the

(a trial race for the

) over 1800 metres at

Tokyo Racecourse is located in Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan. Built in 1933 for horse racing, it is considered the "racecourse of racecourses" in Japanese horseracing. It has a capacity of 223,000, with seating for 13,750. Tokyo Racecourse hosts numerous G1 (Grade 1) r ...

. 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 is located in Funabashi, Chiba, Japan. It is used for horse racing. It has a capacity of 165,676. It was built in 1990. Physical attributes Nakayama Race Course has two grass courses, a dirt course, and a jump course. The turf's measures 184 ...

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

, who was attempting to follow up her victory in the

Oka Sho The is a Japanese Grade 1 flat horse race in Japan. The race is restricted to three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies and is run over a distance of 1,600 metres (approximately 1 mile) at the Hanshin Racecourse, Takarazuka, Hyōgo in April. It was ...

. The other sixteen runners included his old rivals Fantasist, Kurino Gaudi and Cadence Call as well as Danon Chaser (

Kisaragi Sho The Kisaragi Sho (Japanese きさらぎ賞) is a Grade 3 horse race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run in February over a distance of 1800 metres at Kyoto Racecourse. The race is also known as the NHK Sho. The race was first run in 1961 and w ...

), Wide Pharaoh ( New Zealand Trophy), Pourville (

Fillies' Revue The Fillies' Revue Japanese フィリーズレビュー} is a Japanese Grade 2 flat horse race in Japan for three-year-old Thoroughbred fillies run over a distance of 1,400 metres at Hanshin Racecourse, Takarazuka, Hyogo. The race is run in M ...

), Iberis ( Arlington Cup), Happy Hour ( Falcon Stakes) and Val d'Isere (

Shinzan Kinen The Shinzan Kinen (in Japanese: シンザン記念), short for Nikkan Sports Sho Shinzan Kinen, is a Grade III race for three-year-olds in the JRA. Race Details The race was named to honor Shinzan Shinzan (シンザン; 2 April 1961 – ...

). 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 Normcore is a unisex fashion trend characterized by unpretentious, average-looking clothing. Normcore fashion includes jeans, t-shirts, sweats, button-downs, and sneakers. History The word "normcore" first appeared in a 2008 guest strip by Ryan ...

. 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 Sha Tin Racecourse is one of the two racecourses for horse racing in Hong Kong. It is located in Sha Tin in the New Territories. It is managed by Hong Kong Jockey Club. Penfold Park is encircled by the track, and the Hong Kong Sports I ...

to contest the

on 8 December when he was ridden by

Christophe Soumillon Christophe Soumillon (born 4 June 1981) is a Belgian jockey based in France. Career Coming from a racing background, Soumillon is the son of jump jockey Jean-Marc Soumillon. He rode in pony races and left Belgium aged fifteen to go to the racing ...

and started a 26/1 outsider.

Beauty Generation Beauty Generation (; foaled 27 September 2012) is a New Zealand-bred Thoroughbred racehorse best known for his performances in Hong Kong. He began his career as a three-year-old in Australia where he won two races and ran second in the Rosehill ...

and Indy Champ started joint favourites while the other seven runners included Normcore, Persian Knight (

) and Waikuku (

Jockey Club Mile The Jockey Club Mile is a Group 2 set weights Thoroughbred horse race in Hong Kong, run at Sha Tin over 1600 metres in November. In the 2003/2004 racing season, this race was upgraded to a domestic Group 2 event. The race was promoted to Internatio ...

). 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

2020: four-year-old season

In the early spring of 2020 Admire Mars was sent to the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...

with the intention of contesting the

Dubai Turf The Dubai Turf, known as Dubai Duty Free 1996 to 2014. is a Group 1 flat horse race in the United Arab Emirates for four-year-old and above thoroughbreds run over a distance of 1,800 metres (1 mile 1 furlong) on the turf at Meydan Racecourse in D ...

on 28 March but returned to Japan when the race was abandoned owing to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. He made his first appearance of the year in the

over 1600 metres at Tokyo when he started a 19.2/1 outsider and came home sixth behind Gran Alegria after racing in third place for most of the way. Admire Mars was then off the track until 31 October when he ran third to Katsuji and Stelvio in the Grade 2 Swan Stakes over 1400 metres at Kyoto, conceding weight to the first two finishers. On 22 November the colt went off the 10.1/ fourth choice in the betting for the

at Hanshin. Ridden as in his previous 2020 starts by

Yuga Kawada A ''yuga'', in Hinduism, is generally used to indicate an age of time. In the ''Rigveda'', a ''yuga'' refers to generations, a long period, a very brief period, or a yoke (joining of two things). In the ''Mahabharata'', the words ''yuga'' and ...

he took the lead 200 metres from the finish but was beaten into third place by Gran Alegria and Indy Champ. In December he returned to Sha Tin and was partnered by Ryan Moore as he attempted to repeat his 2019 success in the

. Starting at odds of 4.4/1 he went to the front 400 metres out but was overtaken in the straight and came home third behind the locally-trained contenders Golden Sixty and Southern Legend. In the 2020 World's Best Racehorse Rankings, Admire Mars was rated on 118, making him the equal 80th best racehorse in the world.

Pedigree

References

{{Reflist 2016 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Japan Racehorses trained in Japan Thoroughbred family 4-l