diff --git a/.github/workflows/test.yml b/.github/workflows/test.yml
index 0c29e2130..4ec26b7f4 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/test.yml
@@ -265,11 +265,20 @@ jobs:
         ports:
           - 9042:9042
 
+    # 8.5 only, deliberately. This job LD_PRELOADs the ASan runtime into a
+    # stock (non-instrumented) setup-php binary, and PHP <= 8.4 dlopen()s
+    # shared extensions with RTLD_DEEPBIND, which the sanitizer runtime
+    # refuses to work with (google/sanitizers#611). With abort_on_error=1
+    # that is a SIGABRT during startup — on opcache.so, then mysqlnd.so, and
+    # ultimately on cassandra.so itself — so the 8.4 leg aborted before it
+    # could run a single test and had been permanently red while guarding
+    # nothing. It is not fixable by disabling individual extensions: the
+    # extension under test is itself a shared object. 8.5 does not pass
+    # RTLD_DEEPBIND and runs the full suite clean.
     strategy:
       fail-fast: false
       matrix:
         php:
-          - "8.4"
           - "8.5"
 
     steps:
diff --git a/src/RetryPolicy/DefaultPolicy.c b/src/RetryPolicy/DefaultPolicy.c
index e72839e50..d3d4d9ccf 100644
--- a/src/RetryPolicy/DefaultPolicy.c
+++ b/src/RetryPolicy/DefaultPolicy.c
@@ -22,17 +22,11 @@ extern zend_object_handlers php_scylladb_retry_policy_default_policy_handlers;
 
 PHP_SCYLLADB_API php_scylladb_retry_policy *php_scylladb_retry_policy_default_policy_instantiate(zval *dst)
 {
-  zval val;
-
-  if (object_init_ex(&val, php_scylladb_retry_policy_default_policy_ce) == FAILURE) {
+  if (object_init_ex(dst, php_scylladb_retry_policy_default_policy_ce) == FAILURE) {
     return nullptr;
   }
 
-  ZVAL_OBJ(dst, Z_OBJ(val));
-
-  php_scylladb_retry_policy *obj = PHP_SCYLLADB_OBJ_FETCH(php_scylladb_retry_policy, Z_OBJ_P(dst));
-  obj->policy = cass_retry_policy_default_new();
-  return obj;
+  return PHP_SCYLLADB_OBJ_FETCH(php_scylladb_retry_policy, Z_OBJ_P(dst));
 }
 
 
diff --git a/src/RetryPolicy/DowngradingConsistency.c b/src/RetryPolicy/DowngradingConsistency.c
index 0c1b40476..dc8a821c9 100644
--- a/src/RetryPolicy/DowngradingConsistency.c
+++ b/src/RetryPolicy/DowngradingConsistency.c
@@ -22,17 +22,11 @@ extern zend_object_handlers php_scylladb_retry_policy_downgrading_consistency_ha
 
 PHP_SCYLLADB_API php_scylladb_retry_policy *php_scylladb_retry_policy_downgrading_consistency_instantiate(zval *dst)
 {
-  zval val;
-
-  if (object_init_ex(&val, php_scylladb_retry_policy_default_policy_ce) == FAILURE) {
+  if (object_init_ex(dst, php_scylladb_retry_policy_downgrading_consistency_ce) == FAILURE) {
     return nullptr;
   }
 
-  ZVAL_OBJ(dst, Z_OBJ(val));
-
-  php_scylladb_retry_policy *obj = PHP_SCYLLADB_OBJ_FETCH(php_scylladb_retry_policy, Z_OBJ_P(dst));
-  obj->policy = cass_retry_policy_downgrading_consistency_new();
-  return obj;
+  return PHP_SCYLLADB_OBJ_FETCH(php_scylladb_retry_policy, Z_OBJ_P(dst));
 }
 
 void php_scylladb_retry_policy_downgrading_consistency_free(zend_object *object)
diff --git a/src/RetryPolicy/Fallthrough.c b/src/RetryPolicy/Fallthrough.c
index f26c0d2b9..5445237c6 100644
--- a/src/RetryPolicy/Fallthrough.c
+++ b/src/RetryPolicy/Fallthrough.c
@@ -30,17 +30,11 @@ extern zend_object_handlers php_scylladb_retry_policy_fallthrough_handlers;
 
 PHP_SCYLLADB_API php_scylladb_retry_policy *php_scylladb_retry_policy_fallthrough_instantiate(zval *dst)
 {
-  zval val;
-
-  if (object_init_ex(&val, php_scylladb_retry_policy_default_policy_ce) == FAILURE) {
+  if (object_init_ex(dst, php_scylladb_retry_policy_fallthrough_ce) == FAILURE) {
     return nullptr;
   }
 
-  ZVAL_OBJ(dst, Z_OBJ(val));
-
-  php_scylladb_retry_policy *obj = PHP_SCYLLADB_OBJ_FETCH(php_scylladb_retry_policy, Z_OBJ_P(dst));
-  obj->policy = cass_retry_policy_fallthrough_new();
-  return obj;
+  return PHP_SCYLLADB_OBJ_FETCH(php_scylladb_retry_policy, Z_OBJ_P(dst));
 }
 
 void php_scylladb_retry_policy_fallthrough_free(zend_object *object)
diff --git a/src/RetryPolicy/Logging.c b/src/RetryPolicy/Logging.c
index 69de80090..3da89f548 100644
--- a/src/RetryPolicy/Logging.c
+++ b/src/RetryPolicy/Logging.c
@@ -63,13 +63,13 @@ php_scylladb_retry_policy_logging_new(zend_class_entry *ce)
 
 PHP_SCYLLADB_API php_scylladb_retry_policy *php_scylladb_retry_policy_logging_instantiate(zval *dst, php_scylladb_retry_policy *retry_policy)
 {
-  zval val;
-
-  if (object_init_ex(&val, php_scylladb_retry_policy_default_policy_ce) == FAILURE) {
+  if (retry_policy->policy == nullptr) {
     return nullptr;
   }
 
-  ZVAL_OBJ(dst, Z_OBJ(val));
+  if (object_init_ex(dst, php_scylladb_retry_policy_logging_ce) == FAILURE) {
+    return nullptr;
+  }
 
   php_scylladb_retry_policy *obj = PHP_SCYLLADB_OBJ_FETCH(php_scylladb_retry_policy, Z_OBJ_P(dst));
   obj->policy = cass_retry_policy_logging_new(retry_policy->policy);