diff --git a/docker/telemetry/workload/validate_telemetry.py b/docker/telemetry/workload/validate_telemetry.py
index d9386641d0..e4e70c0acc 100644
--- a/docker/telemetry/workload/validate_telemetry.py
+++ b/docker/telemetry/workload/validate_telemetry.py
@@ -52,6 +52,16 @@ SCRIPT_DIR = Path(__file__).parent
 EXPECTED_SPANS_FILE = SCRIPT_DIR / "expected_spans.json"
 EXPECTED_METRICS_FILE = SCRIPT_DIR / "expected_metrics.json"
 
+# Some beast::insight gauges/counters (ledger-age, peer-finder, overlay
+# traffic) only populate after the node validates ledgers and sustains peer
+# traffic, then travel a 1s periodic OTLP export + a 15s Prometheus scrape
+# before they are queryable. On a slow CI runner the fixed post-workload wait
+# can end before that pipeline settles, so a single query races and reports 0
+# series. Poll each missing metric for up to this long (covering two scrape
+# cycles) before failing, so the check is robust to runner speed.
+METRIC_POLL_TIMEOUT_SEC = 45.0
+METRIC_POLL_INTERVAL_SEC = 5.0
+
 
 # ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Data classes
@@ -595,26 +605,37 @@ async def _check_prometheus_metric(
         # stale in Prometheus and disappear from instant queries.  The
         # series endpoint returns any metric that existed in the window,
         # regardless of staleness.
+        #
+        # Poll rather than query once: late-populating gauges/counters may
+        # not have completed the export+scrape pipeline when this runs, so a
+        # single query races. Re-query until the metric appears or the poll
+        # window elapses; a metric that never appears still fails after the
+        # timeout.
         params: dict[str, str] = {"match[]": metric_name}
-        async with session.get(
-            f"{prometheus_url}/api/v1/series", params=params
-        ) as resp:
-            data = await resp.json()
-            results = data.get("data", [])
-            series_count = len(results)
-            report.add(
-                CheckResult(
-                    name=f"metric.{category}.{metric_name}",
-                    category="metric",
-                    passed=series_count > 0,
-                    message=(
-                        f"{metric_name}: {series_count} series"
-                        if series_count > 0
-                        else f"{metric_name}: 0 series (expected > 0)"
-                    ),
-                    details={"series_count": series_count},
-                )
+        series_count = 0
+        deadline = time.monotonic() + METRIC_POLL_TIMEOUT_SEC
+        while True:
+            async with session.get(
+                f"{prometheus_url}/api/v1/series", params=params
+            ) as resp:
+                data = await resp.json()
+                series_count = len(data.get("data", []))
+            if series_count > 0 or time.monotonic() >= deadline:
+                break
+            await asyncio.sleep(METRIC_POLL_INTERVAL_SEC)
+        report.add(
+            CheckResult(
+                name=f"metric.{category}.{metric_name}",
+                category="metric",
+                passed=series_count > 0,
+                message=(
+                    f"{metric_name}: {series_count} series"
+                    if series_count > 0
+                    else f"{metric_name}: 0 series (expected > 0)"
+                ),
+                details={"series_count": series_count},
             )
+        )
     except Exception as exc:
         report.add(
             CheckResult(