diff --git a/src/backend/distributed/utils/metadata_cache.c b/src/backend/distributed/utils/metadata_cache.c
index 12dad443c..5f4f14f97 100644
--- a/src/backend/distributed/utils/metadata_cache.c
+++ b/src/backend/distributed/utils/metadata_cache.c
@@ -511,6 +511,11 @@ LookupDistTableCacheEntry(Oid relationId)
 		return NULL;
 	}
 
+	if (DistTableCacheHash == NULL)
+	{
+		InitializeDistTableCache();
+	}
+
 	/*
 	 * If the version is not known to be compatible, perform thorough check,
 	 * unless such checks are disabled.
@@ -538,11 +543,6 @@ LookupDistTableCacheEntry(Oid relationId)
 		}
 	}
 
-	if (DistTableCacheHash == NULL)
-	{
-		InitializeDistTableCache();
-	}
-
 	cacheEntry = hash_search(DistTableCacheHash, hashKey, HASH_ENTER, &foundInCache);
 
 	/* return valid matches */