diff --git a/crates/ml/src/trainers/dqn/trainer.rs b/crates/ml/src/trainers/dqn/trainer.rs
index 57a82def0..05d51f26d 100644
--- a/crates/ml/src/trainers/dqn/trainer.rs
+++ b/crates/ml/src/trainers/dqn/trainer.rs
@@ -1595,6 +1595,11 @@ impl DQNTrainer {
             // WAVE 30: Log epoch start
             log_epoch_start(epoch + 1, self.hyperparams.epochs, self.hyperparams.learning_rate);
 
+            // Emit epoch gauge immediately so Prometheus/Grafana template variables resolve
+            // before the first epoch completes (foxhunt_training_step alone isn't enough
+            // because the dashboard model/fold dropdowns historically use current_epoch).
+            training_metrics::set_epoch("dqn", "current", (epoch + 1) as f64);
+
             // Create monitor for this epoch
             let mut monitor = TrainingMonitor::new(epoch + 1);
 
diff --git a/crates/ml/src/trainers/ppo.rs b/crates/ml/src/trainers/ppo.rs
index 5892e5083..180bab3bc 100644
--- a/crates/ml/src/trainers/ppo.rs
+++ b/crates/ml/src/trainers/ppo.rs
@@ -539,6 +539,9 @@ impl PpoTrainer {
             let epoch_start = std::time::Instant::now();
             debug!("Training epoch {}/{}", epoch + 1, self.hyperparams.epochs);
 
+            // Emit epoch gauge immediately so Grafana template variables resolve early
+            training_metrics::set_epoch("ppo", "current", (epoch + 1) as f64);
+
             // Phase 3: GPU experience collection — bypasses CPU collect_rollouts + prepare_training_batch
             #[cfg(feature = "cuda")]
             let gpu_batch_result: Option<TrajectoryBatch> = if let (
diff --git a/infra/k8s/monitoring/dashboards/foxhunt-training.json b/infra/k8s/monitoring/dashboards/foxhunt-training.json
index f9dff2662..59ffa51b4 100644
--- a/infra/k8s/monitoring/dashboards/foxhunt-training.json
+++ b/infra/k8s/monitoring/dashboards/foxhunt-training.json
@@ -98,7 +98,7 @@
           "type": "prometheus",
           "uid": "PBFA97CFB590B2093"
         },
-        "query": "label_values(foxhunt_training_current_epoch{job=~\"$source\"}, model)",
+        "query": "label_values(foxhunt_training_step{job=~\"$source\"}, model)",
         "refresh": 2,
         "includeAll": true,
         "multi": true,
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@
           "type": "prometheus",
           "uid": "PBFA97CFB590B2093"
         },
-        "query": "label_values(foxhunt_training_current_epoch{job=~\"$source\"}, fold)",
+        "query": "label_values(foxhunt_training_step{job=~\"$source\"}, fold)",
         "refresh": 2,
         "includeAll": true,
         "multi": true,
diff --git a/infra/scripts/train.sh b/infra/scripts/train.sh
index 7f8141572..c43d46696 100755
--- a/infra/scripts/train.sh
+++ b/infra/scripts/train.sh
@@ -196,6 +196,10 @@ spec:
         foxhunt/job-type: training
         foxhunt/model: ${model}
         foxhunt/preset: ${PRESET}
+      annotations:
+        prometheus.io/scrape: "true"
+        prometheus.io/port: "9094"
+        prometheus.io/path: "/metrics"
     spec:
       restartPolicy: Never
       nodeSelector:
@@ -341,7 +345,12 @@ spec:
     metadata:
       labels:
         app.kubernetes.io/part-of: foxhunt
+        app.kubernetes.io/component: training-workflow
         foxhunt/job-type: evaluate
+      annotations:
+        prometheus.io/scrape: "true"
+        prometheus.io/port: "9094"
+        prometheus.io/path: "/metrics"
     spec:
       restartPolicy: Never
       nodeSelector: